In this episode, we are going to continue our conversation about foundational steps if you find yourself in a caregiver role. How do you get started? This is something that most don’t prepare for. Wouldn’t research of even be familiar with until you have to. Most times people come into my office following a diagnosis. Parent has a diagnosis of some form of dementia or Parkinson’s, or some debilitating disease and then we’re thinking about what is going to come next. How can the family protect Mom or Dad. What do they have in place or what don’t they have in place.

What do they need? How can they pay for care? How can they protect assets that they’ve worked their whole life to accumulate? What happens to that retirement plan? What about the family home? They come in scared with lots of questions and no knowledge of where to start. Maybe that’s where you are today.

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In this episode, we are talking about something being dubbed the “sandwich generation” and as I explain briefly in our intro that is label being given to anyone experiencing the struggle of simultaneously caring for children and aging parents is part of the sandwich generation.

The sandwich generation is a group of middle-aged adults who care for both their aging parents and their own children.  Although “generation” is part of the phrase, it doesn’t refer to people born at a specific time. Typically, these family caregivers will be in the 30- to 40-year-old age range, providing for their families and balancing care duties between the needs of children and parents.

What is causing this “issue” ?

The rise in the numbers in the sandwich generation is a byproduct of two influential trends: 

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. You are most likely experiencing significant anxiety and stress as you juggle school and activities for your children, expectations at work, changing family dynamics, and daily caregiver duties. Though this is a challenging time in your life, it doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems.

Read more: https://nancycogar.com/meet-the-sandwich-generation/

This introductory episode explores what our listeners can expect from Boomer Time with Nancy Cogar, an emerging podcast for boomers, caregivers, families and friends.