Caregiving in the Face of Millennials

Caregiving in the Face of Millennials
Student Name
University
Course
Instructor Name
Date
Caregiving in the Face of Millennials
When it comes to caregiving, millennials are in a unique situation where they care both for the elderly and the young while grappling with economic freedom. According to Parker and Patten (2013), one in every seven middle-aged adults provides emotional, financial, and psychological support to both a child and aging. Thus, the generation has been referred to as the Sandwiched Generation because of the dual nature of their caregiving challenges. Given the extreme difficulties of pursuing employment, career development, and educational advancement, this generation faces many challenges that make caregiving for partners, parents, and children a selfless expression of generativity.
Women are more often kin keepers and caregivers than men.
An essential fact about caregiving is predominantly a woman's role. Sandwiched between aging parents and children, in an economic and political society that is patriarchal mainly, the part of caregiving appears to be dominated by women. Thus, of the 40 million Americans who give daily help to a parent, grandparent, a relative, or a neighbor, 66% are women (Demitz, 2017). Further, while men also provide care, they spend 50% less time than women. Of all the American population of older age, 65% are cared for by friends and family, often for free. Thus, women are more likely to shoulder the burden of unpaid hours, leading to poverty.
What does the term caregiver mean for adult women?
For adult women, caregiving means a holistic approach to care in which more than one dimension of care is provided. It involves observing tiny changes in the person cared for, sacrificing time to ensure they received medical attention, monitoring prescriptions, maintaining care appointment records, dressing, and feeding others (Khullar, 2017). Often, adult women caregivers provide emotional and financial support even to grown children. Thus, caregiving is a responsibility that cannot be done halfway for an adult woman.
Why might women be designated ki...