While in my sociology class, I recently learned a term called the sandwich generation. According to my professor, this term refers to women who are taking care of their children and their adult parents. If you think of a typical turkey sandwich, the top piece of bread represents the woman’s parents, the bottom piece her children, and she is the turkey in the middle. This is something that we see all too often in America and do not even realize the strain it places on women. Before I was placed in this situation myself, I never gave too much thought to this way of life.
My father recently became ill and has been hospitalized for over a month now. Although I am my father’s second youngest child, I have now become his caregiver. I do not have any children of my own; however, I am a full-time student, I work two jobs, and I am only 18 years old. To say it is stressful to deal with all this at once is an understatement.
I decided to research more on this topic, and discovered that whenever parents (or other family members) get sick, it is usually a female family member who takes care of them. With many women now who are single mothers, I wonder what the long-term affects will be on the children who are raised in this situation. I would guess they do not receive that much attention for their mother due to her time being so divided with work, her parents, and her children.
I am extremely interested in hearing your views about this topic and possible solutions or even tips for women in this type of situation. I have attached an article on this topic to give you a little more insight. Feel free to share your views.