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Balancing Act Archives |
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August, 2006: Family Snack Smarts |
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July, 2006: Cooperative Co-parenting |
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June, 2006: Street Proofing Teens 101 |
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May, 2006: Harmony is in season: Harmony is in season: Warm Weather Activities To Bring The Family Together |
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April, 2006: Caregiving: Sensible Steps To Success |
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March, 2006: Healthy Eating In A Fast Food World |
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February, 2006: Stress Busters to Stay Lighthearted |
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January, 2006: Brain Gain in Life's Later Years |
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December, 2005: Holiday Budget Planning |
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November, 2005: Combating Childhood Obesity |
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October, 2005: Eating Away at Colds and Flu |
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September, 2005: Avoiding the Aches of Osteoarthritis |
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August, 2005: Growing Older, Eating Wiser |
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July, 2005: Nutrition Tips for the Healthiest Summer Ever |
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June, 2005: Long-Term Care Facilities/Nursing Homes - How Do I Choose the Right One? |
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May, 2005: Nutrition and Your Baby: Introducing solid food to the menu |
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April, 2005: When Baby Comes Home For The First Time |
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March, 2005: Stepping into the Role of Stepparent |
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February, 2005: Pumping Fitness into Your Day |
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January, 2005: Remedies for Financial Holiday Hangovers |
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December, 2004: Time Out: Making the most of the holidays |
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November, 2004: An Ounce of Prevention: Type 2 Diabetes |
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October, 2004: Dealing with Peer Pressure |
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September, 2004: Long Distance Caregiving |
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August, 2004: The ‘Be-tween’ Transition, 2004 |
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July, 2004: Easing into summer vacation |
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June, 2004: A family-friendly balance for working fathers |
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May, 2004: Communication Tips to Help Young Minds Grow |
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April, 2004: Tips for Making the Tax Season Less Taxing |
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March, 2004: The Dieting Merry-Go-Round |
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February, 2004: Keeping Your Financial Future in Check |
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January, 2004: Here Comes the Flu |
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December, 2003: Communicating with your Teen |
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November, 2003: Eating for Energy |
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October, 2003: Work-life Balance: Making it Work for You |
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September, 2003: The Homework Zone |
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August, 2003: Health Hints to Ease Your Family in to the Fall Season |
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July, 2003: Stay Alert and Stay Safe - Streetproofing your kids |
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June, 2003: Summer Activities for Stay-at-Home Kids |
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May, 2003: Helping Older Relatives Stay Active |
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April, 2003: Spring-cleaning: For the home, the family, and you |
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March, 2003: Choosing a Summer Camp |
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February, 2003: Baby couch potatoes: Tearing your kids away from the TV |
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January, 2003: Resolution Solutions |
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December, 2002: Holiday Stress Blasters |
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November, 2002: Beating the Winter Blues |
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October, 2002: Making the most of family mealtimes |
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September, 2002: Generation Relations |
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August 2002: Vacation Relaxation |
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July 2002: Swimming Safety |
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May 2002: Stuck in the Middle. The Sandwich Generation |
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April, 2002: Supporting Your Child's Social Success |
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March, 2002: After the Spring Break ... Take a Break For Yourself |
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February, 2002: Keep those loving connections alive |
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January, 2002: Ringing in a Balanced New Year |
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December, 2001: Holiday Safety Tips |
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November, 2001: It's Flu Season |
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October, 2001: Halloween Safety Tips |
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September, 2001: Back to school |
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Stuck
in the Middle: The Sandwich Generation Squeeze
If you're feeling the generational squeeze, you're not alone. The dual
responsibilities of taking care of bothchildren and parents can leave
"sandwichers" stressed out, anxious and resentful. Though
your family obligations might be impossible to change, how you deal
with daily challenges is not. The following tips will ease your pressure
and help you cope with life in the sandwich generation.
- Look after yourself first. Many sandwichers put themselves
at the bottom of the priority list. Doing this can jeopardize
your physical and mental health and leave you too ill or stressed
to help other family members. Indulge in your favorite pastime-whether
writing poetry, car mechanics, hiking or yoga-and weave it into
your daily or weekly routine.
- Create a plan of action. Sit down with the entire family
and discuss the future frankly. Hammer out a long-term plan
that clearly lays out each family member's responsibilities.
If educational and elder care costs are causing you financial
stress, try drawing up a detailed budget to ease your anxiety.
A "living will"-outlining your parents' medical, financial
and healthcare wishes-is also something to consider while your
parents are still in relatively good health. Thorough planning
can go a long way to reduce worry for everyone involved.
- Accept that you'll have good days and bad. Frustration,
stress and guilt are well known to the sandwich generation.
So too are optimism, joy and love. Waves of both are natural.
If you're overwhelmed by negative feelings, though, don't bottle
it up. Talk to a close friend, spouse, join an elder care support
group or consult your WarrenShepell EAP to help you cope.
- Ask for help. It's easy to lose sight of your situation
and become resentful or a martyr. Remember that there are others
around you that can cover some of the work and bear some of
the load. Hold a family meeting and create a schedule that assigns
tasks to older children, your partner and your parents. Get
everyone to participate as much as they're able to and reduce
some of your burdens.
- Include your elderly parents in decision making and respect
their need for independence. Let your parents do what they
are able to for as long as they can. It's important to help
them maintain their dignity, especially when their health and
abilities begin to deteriorate. Reinforce your love and support
for them every day.
- Finally, use the resources available to you. Look
into child care and elder care options available in your area
including day programs for the elderly. A Family Matters™
Consultant can perform a personalized search to locate child,
parenting and elder care programs and services in your community.
Need more information on parenting? Your Employee Assistance Program
(EAP) can help with a child to elder care resource and referral service
that is geared toward enhancing the quality of family life. Call your
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to see if you are eligible for the
child to elder care resource and referral service at 1 866.468.9461
or 1.800.387.4765.
This newsletter is meant for informational purposes only and may not necessarily represent the views of individual organizations.
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