Several pieces of research have shown that being a member of the sandwich generation is a major factor to consider when discussing physical, emotional, and financial stressors. As the name suggests, if you belong to this group, you are likely sandwiched between giving care to your parents and children simultaneously. In some other cases, your caregiving duties might extend to other loved ones. This is not an easy feat. If you are not already responsible for the simultaneous care of your parents and children, you are likely to be at a point in your life.
According to surveys, more than one-third of people in the sandwich generation reported undergoing some degree of emotional stress. Also, more than one-fifth reported experiencing some form of physical and financial stress. These tips will help you stay ahead of time and get prepared to handle the stress that comes with caring for your parents and kids at the same time.
- Get Assistance: This might be hard when it comes to the care of your children or if you are the only child of your parents. However, if you have siblings, you can ensure that the entire burden of your parents’ care is not on you. Have a great discussion with other siblings, detailing the care needs of your parents, and how they can come in individually. This will go a long way in offsetting some of the physical, emotional, and financial stress. If you have grown-up kids, you can also enlist them in assisting with caring for your aging parents. Caregivers and nannies are also great forms of assistance that can help you reduce your physical stress.
- Stay Organized Always: Caring for both your parents and children means having many things to do always. Stay ahead of this and protect your physical and mental health by having an organized plan of your activities. A journal will be useful for this.
- Make Financial Plans: The gruesome financial burden of having to care for your parents and children can make you forget all your lessons on financial planning and focus on what appears to be the immediate need - their care. By all means, do not forget to plan your finances. By all means, do not forget to have and execute a retirement plan. While giving care to them could add to your financial stress, failure to plan your finances will lead to a greater financial disaster.
- Handle Family Discord with Care: Making decisions over the care of parents often leads to arguments among siblings. Learn to deal with these situations with patience and grace. There will be a lot of complex emotions, learn to deal with them while also ensuring that you express yourself.
- Take Care of Yourself: you might get so engrossed with caring for your parent and children and forget you are human. You might be a superhero at caregiving, but this heroism does not translate into super physical abilities. It is necessary to always find time to relax and take care of your health. If you are not in the “sandwich situation” yet, you should imbibe the culture of self-care now. This will make it a more natural thing for you when you eventually get sandwiched.
Being a sandwich generation member can be very challenging but following all the above tips will help you to handle the care responsibilities efficiently while also reducing the stresses that come along with them.
Effraim Home Care’s in-home care services can give you the opportunity you need to rest and recuperate so you don’t become affected by sandwich generation caregiver burnout. Whether the need is for just a couple of hours each week, full-time, live-in care, or just about anything in between, our highly skilled care staff can assist with an extensive range of home care needs: personal care, meal planning/preparation, household chores, running errands, transportation, or simply warm companionship to participate in enjoyable conversations and pastimes. Contact us today at (215) 826-7422 to discover more about our home care in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas and find out how we can help you and your family.
Comments are closed.