The Pros And Cons Of The Sandwich Generation

As boundaries are pushed, the standards of what it means to be an adult are changing. One factor that is keeping our young adults from becoming functioning members of society is their lack of independence. In Eve Tushnet’s “You Can Go Home Again,” a 2008 study showed that out of those who have returned home or those who never left the nest, “few contributed financially to the household or [do] chores”(par. 5). If the leaders of our future generations refuse to contribute to their homes, what can they contribute to the betterment of our society? There is a growing stigma around adults who live with their parents yet these consequences are not proving any prevention, and those who ignore the reputation are being described as having “failed to launch,” (par. 4). The numbers of those adults are steadily rising. As less emphasis is placed upon the value of responsibilities, adults feel that they are given the excuse to move back home after college or at least find a way to depend upon their parents again. An article by Karen L. Fingerman and Frank F. Furstenberg entitled "You Can Go Home Again," argues for a recent study depicting that almost 70 percent of parents still provide some type of “practical assistance” to their children every month. This specific reliance teaches adolescents that they will never have to work to their maximum potential as their parents will never truly stop cleaning up their mess. While it must be considered that higher satisfaction and clearer life goals have been reported amongst those receiving assistance (par. 3), this gives leeway to indolence and overdependence, essentially teaching our children that effort is not necessary so long as you are

Most baby boomers grew up watching their traditionalist parents work very hard to make ends meet and take care of the family unit. As a result of their upbringing many boomers have adopted their parent’s strong work ethics; working hard, long hours trying to climb the corporate ladder. Baby boomers still enjoy personal face to face interactions and building rapport with people

Grown children can benefit significantly from parental help. Young adults who received financial, every day and emotional support from their parents have reported clearer life goals and more satisfaction than young adults who received less parental support (Fingerman & Furstenburg , 2012). This closeness to parents, signals an overall change in the cultural climate of what relationships take place in people’s lives today versus in generations past. This change is made true by, delays in marriage, more Americans choosing to remain single, and high divorce rates, a tie to a parent may be the most important bond in a young adult’s life (Fingerman & Furstenburg , 2012). However the negative side to this can also lead to adult children feeling stifled and there even older parents sometimes feeling as though the children will never grow up. Research shows that parents and grown children alike reported awkwardness, viewing intense parental support in adulthood as a sign of harmful over-involvement. Parents reported less gratification about their own lives if they believed their children were too dependent (Fingerman & Furstenburg , 2012). So although help is great, it is the idea that this help can in turn cause more good than harm that is the issue. With the economy not yet having fully come back full swing and an ever changing definition of marriage coupled with

Can you imagine yourself as an adult who just graduated from college, and has to move back home and live with your parents? Imagine waking up everyday and knowing that you have two hundred thousand dollars in student loans that has to be paid? There are many reasons that cause these problems, but today, large amounts of student debt and an increase in unemployment are the major problems that college graduates are facing. With the lack of jobs and no money, people are turning to their parents for food and shelter. In Rosie Evan’s essay “Boomerang Kids: What are the Cause of Generation Y’s Growing Pains,” she explains the causes of the delayed adulthood, and she also gives the messages to people and the government to offer better support to this generation. The causes of Generation Y’ growing pains are the amount of college’s debt, lack of employment and people becoming too dependent on technology.

According to a USA Today article from last year, nearly sixty percent of Americans have more than $25,000 put away for retirement. Thirty-six percent of Americans have less than $1000 saved for later in life. This means that as more people, especially the baby boomer generation, retire, there will be more strain on program such as Social Security and Medicare, and ultimately the federal budget that is responsible for these programs. If steps are taken now to close this gap, we will insure the continued longevity of these programs by raising the tax contributions flowing into both Social Security and Medicare.

The article is seven pages long, written in parental style, meaning written for the boomer parents.

The Baby-Boom generation is nearing retirement and it is clear that millions of aging Boomers are financially under prepared. Reasons are many - poor savings habits, rising medical costs, the demise of guaranteed corporate pensions, and the dreaded squeeze faced by many: i.e. having to pay college costs for their children, care for their elderly parents, and save for retirement, all at the same time.

Reaching old age is a true fact of life, and for many baby boomers is nothing but an immediate reality. Technological advances and scientific applications to the everyday life have flooded the market in the last two decades with a vast array of new products and electronic gadgets for the general consumer. However, for the quite vast majority of aging boomers, the attainability of more essential living things has become of more relevance in their life now more than ever. One very important element many aging individuals struggle with is trying to retain their independence, and that is in the sense of remaining self sufficient and self reliant to be able to care for themselves accordingly with dignity. Whether living alone or growing together

“The vast majority of 18- to 29-year-olds polled — 84 percent — said adult children have a responsibility to provide financial assistance to an elderly parent if he or she needs it (Winerip).” This data just shows that the Millennials do realize that they owe the older generations for their success and that they aren’t against them. From the research done and the articles read, it can be shown that these two generations can work together if they both put their stubbornness aside to help the rising generation.

The US population is beginning to see a significant growth in the proportion of Americans who are 65 and older. In 2011 the first of the baby boomers began entering the age of 65. The last of the baby boomers will turn 65 in 2030, and it is projected that one in every five Americans will be elderly at that time (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013; Ortman, Velkoff & Hogan, 2014). Also adding to the reason for the increase in proportion of aging individuals in the population is the declines in fertility and the dramatic increases in longevity, which means the number of generations of a family alive at one time has continued to increase. At each stage of the life the post war baby boomers, because of the sheer size of the group,

In more detail, much of their savings are tied up towards retirement due to the serious financial crisis of 2008, which means they lack of sufficient retirement funds, even basic living expenses. According to the research of Boomer Expectation for Retirement 2016, which is from the Insured Retirement Institute, illustrates that 25 % of boomers have no retirement savings and 76 percent of baby boomer generation are unconfident about whether their savings can last through retirement (Insured Retirement Institute, 2016). This appears to suggest that boomers might not be prepared for their retirement plan and that they have never tried to figure out how much they will need for retirement. Moreover, they are concerned about not being able to maintain their standard of living. For example, according to a newspaper report from Star Tribune, Judy Davis, 57, of St. Paul, who works for a nonprofit agency, discusses her difficulty of retirement, “If I had to retire I would be broke pretty soon. I could probably survive six months to a year” (Read, 2015). With this in mind, it proves that Davis still works for a nonprofit agency because she does not have any preparation for her retirement or enough money to last through her old age. Furthermore, the lack of retirement savings will reduce their standard of living. Therefore, baby boomers experience significant financial stress because of

Hyper parenting has not allowed individuals to form their own identity. Such individuals are faced with economic and social problems and lack skills to solve such problems on their own. Skills that are needed to cope with the difficulties of society are now being fought by their parents. University psychologists report that today’s students have higher levels of anxiety than any generation before and employers are now required to provide extra supervision because of their self-entitlement behaviour (Barlett, Lerose 2010). Hyper parenting removes the ability of one’s agency and creates structures that forces children to be socially constructed. As a result several individuals are unemployed and about 53% of individuals under the age of 25 do not have a stable job (Koslow, 2012). This has caused several individuals to move back with their parents and ask for assistant with paying off debts. David Foot states, that the boomers are staying in the workforce longer because they have little savings and this has caused individuals in their 40`s to be stuck in their career path and little entry level positions are available for the younger generation (Kennedy, 2012). Having a higher education level does not always lead one to live a successful life. Success can have several paths and education is not the only way. No one really knows what success

Imagine if someone did all your laundry, payed all your bills, called your professors and bosses, and basically solved all your problems for you. You may feel grateful at first until you realize that they are denying you the right to be self-sufficient. This is exactly how adult children feel when their parents are overinvolved. Overparenting has been a popular media topic recently. Whereas parents used to stop supporting their children as soon as they turned eighteen (Etterson 5), more and more parents are continuing to hover, which is commonly referred to as helicopter parenting (“Helicopter” 1). This type of parenting involves “... inappropriate levels of parental directiveness, tangible assistance, problem-solving, monitoring, and involvement into the lives of children” (Segrin, et al. 1). Even though helping a child learn to navigate through adulthood can have a positive impact on their life, parents should be wary of believing that what they consider to be best for their child is also want their child wants. Parents should only provide their adult children with advice and allow them to make their own

Younger generations think they have plenty of time to plan and retirement seems too far in the distance future. But the earlier they begin saving for retirement, the more financially stable they will be at retirement age. Saving a little over a longer time accruing interest over the persons working years would develop into a nice retirement nest egg. Youth today will need to work harder at saving, in comparison to their grandparents and even their parents, due to economic factors and because social security and pensions lack reliability.

Amy Tan begins by announcing, “I am not a scholar of English…I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country and others.” How does this opening set up your expectations for the rest of the essay? Why do you think she chose to begin by denying her own authority?