The Sandwich Generation: Couples hemmed in on both sides, caring for aging parents and burdened with grown kids moving back home because they can't find work or are buckling under student loan debt.
It was once a mainstay of rural American culture, a household where generations all lived and cared for each other. Post WWII the idea of the multigenerational home went by the wayside as America evolved into the nuclear family. Now, a big family under one roof has evolved and adapted for the modern working America of the 21st Century.
"There are some cultures in America who have a very successful family dynamic because everyone's there to take care of one another." Denise Bottcher, with the American Association for Retired Persons, says financial constraints like student loan debt and healthcare costs are the reason many in the middle are chosing to put their own retirement contributions on hold and help out kids and grandparents at the same time.
And there's more and more of them out there all living under one roof: "You have this kind of financial burden on behalf of several generations. As well as a lot of caregiving responsibility," Bottcher explains.
The demands on them are many and varied. A lot of times Sandwich Generation members are not looking out for the most important person. "When you're putting the needs of others before your own,' Bottcher says. "At some point you do fall into a trap where you're not caring for yourself."
Bottcher, a Sandwhich Generation alumni herself, says people in her position need to budget appropriate time and money to care for themselves. She says if you're not in good mental and physical shape then you can't be the kind of caregiver to the ones depending on you.