The article The ‘sandwich generation,’ conducted by Charles R. Pierret, is a thought provoking study that brings up different issues observable in our culture. Directly, this study sheds light on the obstacles middle aged women face in society when they are in a caregiver’s position for not only their children, but also their parents as well. Indirectly, however, this study seems to present some implications for further studies to be conducted. The discussion of the sandwich generation was revelatory for me in that I had not fully contemplated the position of such women in our society. It is obvious now that I think about it how the ‘baby boomer’ generation is aging, putting considerable strain on the generation of adults below them. This strain can be seen in the healthcare system as medical programs are pleading with the public to invest more manpower into the …show more content…
In table 2 of the study, it can be seen that 27.4% of the sandwich generation provided their parents with financial support of nearly $1,000. I am curious to know the causes for the needed in the aging generation. Was it due to poor financial decisions made throughout their lives? If so, what were they? Or can a correlation be seen between certain life decisions and the need for financial support after retirement? For instance, does the decision of becoming a biochemistry major or an art major seem to correlate with a higher financial dependence later on in life? I think this would be an interesting continuation of this study that would come with valuable implications to the young generation being raised now. If our society was aware of these risk factors that have been observed to be correlated with late-life financial dependence, and therefore increased strain on the next generation, we can instruct the children of today how to live a more independent
The 1950’s family claims to have provided more of a family-friendly economic and social environment (Coontz, 29). All the mothers were staying home it was easier for the women to have friends and make connections. More mothers could be involved with their children’s lives. Yes, in today’s society there are mothers that are still very involved in their children’s lives but it is harder for them to be. For the majority of the families in the 21st century, “it’s really fanning out into all kinds of family structures” (Schulte). Now women are working and having more independence than they ever have which have been creating all these different structures. “Many people assume dual income families are now the predominant family structure” (Schulte). The women have now taken the role to bring in some income to help support the family as well. Now the minority have the 1950’s nuclear family. There were more jobs for the men and they could support the family so that the women did not have to
The purpose of this report is to (1) discover the Baby Boomer and discuss briefly on how they came about. (2) What effects have Baby Boomers made in the economy, and (3) what does all this have to do with health care and retirement? Between 1945 and 1960 be...
Families are becoming more diverse and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some people consider families to be strictly biological, while others consider people they love to be their family. Although two-parent families, also known as a nuclear family are the majority, one-parent families are becoming more common in today’s society. A sole-parent is considered to be a parent without a partner or spouse who is the primary care giver of one or more children in a household (Ministry of Social Development, 2010). From the age of 14 onward I was raised by m...
In an era of constant revolution, all industrialized countries are undergoing related processes of change in family life and social structures that have a collision on traditional caring arrangements and expectations of care. The question of living arrangements is at the heart of the discussion about care and support to older people of 65 and above. All through the life course, maintaining an independent living is considered as an expression of autonomy and this becomes particularly important in old age, where the possibility to decide on the preferred living arrangement cannot always be maintained. It is a fact that shared households between generations are on the decline in all modern countries, and are reducing the impact of cohabitation as a factor for family care. Family values and normative obligations are still strong, with high levels of cohabitation (Bumpass, L.L, & Sweet, J.A. 1995). Studies show that marital satisfaction is usually very high at the beginning of couple life, but declines consequently with the accretion of duties related to child rearing, work, domestic tasks, etc. Later in life, marital satisfaction is restored somewhat when the couple regains some intimacy (Kiernan, K. & Estaugh, V. 1993). In addition, studies show that marital distress or dissatisfaction is a problem for elderly people just as it is for other age groups. Statistics indicate that divorce and separation, formerly nearly nonexistent among people at this stage of their lives, are on the rise (Axinn, W. & Thornton, A. 1999). This life stage is that it is often the first time that the spouses find themselves in the same space on a day-to-day basis. A variety of problems that may have been concealed throughout their lives are very likely t...
Rosie is a thirty-eight-year-old, Caucasian female who lives with her husband David, her daughter Clara, age five, daughter Amelia, age two, and her invalid mother. Rosie states, “I am so exhausted from parenting. I don’t like the type of mother I have become.” Rosie is in the sandwich generation with the responsibility of her mother, who isn’t any help with the children, and taking care of the children. Her mother has Parkinson’s disease and early signs of dementia. Rosie is an only child and, therefore, the sole caretaker of her mother. She takes her mom to doctor appointments, deals with the insurance companies, and take care of her daily needs. Rosie stated that she is irritable, cranky, ungrateful, and that she adds
This is a chilling indictment and warrants an honest answer. In addition, many residents remember their pass occupations in the same fields where they were now recipients of the service to which they complain. Diamond notes that common frailty has now come to mean the life of a pauper (p 151). It seems that senior’s long working life is a consequence, instead of a benefit.
More and more workplaces appear to be one where organisations have only a small core of full time permanent employees, where most skills are brought in on a contract basis, either working from home or hired for specific projects (Cartwright & Cooper, 1997). Past working trends show us that women are more experienced at disjointed career patterns, dipping in and out of the labour market, with a variation of part time and contract work. In the past these patterns of working were viewed as non-committed or second class, however, women are now being preferred for their compliance in the ever changing working environment. The job for life is no longer a realistic goal for many, traditionally desired by men as they stereotypically hope to provide for the family. Today’s home environment focuses more on what is overall best for the family rather than the traditional views of the bread winner. Men and Women collectively are taking responsibility for the caregiv...
One major reason millenials are not projected to do as well as the current Generation X is a financial one. According to David Leonhardt of the New York Times, “The typical American household made less money last year than the typical household made a full decade ago,” while the “median household [income] fell to $50,303 last year [2009] from $52,163 in 2007.” (Leonhardt, par 1-2). This is a major problem, considering the cost of living and inflation are continuously on the rise. Millenials are the most educated generation in American History. This may sound like a fantastic prospect for the future; however, the average debt for graduates of public (notice this is not a statistic for private schools, which are even more costly) universities doubled between 1996 and 2006. In f...
Around the time, I was turning fifty I began to contemplate what the future holds for myself in my senior years. Chapter nine of the text confirmed various concerns. Since I never married and have no children, I will lack the benefit of the typical primary caregivers, spouse, and children. Single men are characteristically slack with their nutrition along with seeking preventive health care. They are more likely to need formal care and end up in nursing homes sooner than their married with children counterparts. Therefore, enthusiastically pursuing excellent health for as long as possible could be my first line of defense. Maintaining years long friendships and pursuing new ones in the community may also provide an advantage. Since the latest technologies
As history and technology changes, the pre conceived notion, and mold for a woman’s role in society is drastically redesigned in accordance to what becomes deemed as socially accepted. From even as current as years of adolescence the “traditional” role of a housewife was instilled in youth, but when factors such as technology, and the economic collapse, these traditional roles were quickly discarded. Women now had to grasp the concept of supporting a family, and in some instances coming home to a stay at home husband due to lack of job demand, and with the rapid growth in technology and inescapable access to technology younger generations of women are no longer depending nor fixed on the notion of fulfilling a traditional mold. Instead with
Following Van Parijs' article, he does introduce two objections that question whether this difference in life expectation could be seen as an advantage for women. On one hand Van Parijs remarks that differences within the life expectations leads to “inequality in the amount of domestic elderly care work performed by the two genders”, on the other hand, he present the possible solution of outsourcing of erderly care, but also estates that such a solution is improbable to be implemented.
Since I was a little girl, my mother always made it clear that a husband was unobtainable if a woman could not properly tend to his needs. I learned how to cook, how to clean, how to do laundry, and I even learned how to take care of my younger siblings all because, according to my mother, these responsibilities were a woman’s duty; it was her job. For centuries, this has been the mindset for every woman, which has been passed down from generation to generation. A stereotype that has influenced a culture and defined a human being. In this 1930’s Kellogg’s PEP Cereal advertisement we witness yet another stereotype defining women into this sexist housewife persona. Through the use of clothing and appearance, text and audience the ad conveys
The purpose of this report is to determine the best type of sandwich for a 15 student pre-k class that is going on a field trip next week. Completing the procedure also improves problem solving, and critical thinking skills.
The term “Sandwich Generation” is what some are using to describe those people who, for one reason or another, are ‘sandwiched’ between the need to provide care not only for their own children but also for at least one aging parent. There has been much debate on what classifies someone as being included in such group, and little emphasis on the hardships that accompany the transition between child and caregiver. This paper will discuss the classification that make up the “sandwich generation’ and some of the financial and emotional stress that comes with this new responsibility.
There are many social problems plaguing the world, including the issue of aging inequality and elders. This social problem is significant because the baby boomers of the 1946-64s are now starting to be the youngest old. Our society is starting to, and needs to, change to accommodate the needs of the elderly. There are many different problems coming with this making people have many political viewpoints, theoretical perspectives, and solutions for this social problem. Baby boomers are a group of people that were born between the years of 1946 and 1964. Just nine months after WW II ended people were having babies at rates higher than ever before. In the year 1946 there were 3.4 million babies were born, nearly 20% more than the prior year. This