THIS IS A MUST READ FOR CAREER WOMEN, SINGLE MOTHERS AND OTHER FEMALE SPECIES WHO ARE JUGGLING A LOT AND TRYING TO PLEASE EVERY MEMBER OF THEIR FAMILY...YOU HAVE JUST ONE LIFE...AFTER THAT NOTHING... I'M TALKING ALSO TO MYSELF...
The health
of women in their fifties is suffering as they juggle caring for aged
parents, their own children and grandchildren, according to research.
Their
quality of life and finances are also being adversely affected as they
cope with the strain of being among the ‘most tightly squeezed’ sandwich
generation of modern times.
A
study from the Institute of Education, University of London, found that
55-year-old women take on a ‘disproportionate’ share of caring
responsibilities for younger and older relatives.
Middle-aged women are suffering because they are having to look after their parents and children (Picture posed by model)
IOE
researchers used data from the National Child Development Study, which
follows the lives of more than 17,000 Britons born in a single week in
1958. They analysed findings from more than 9,100 cohort members who
took part in the NCDS age 55 survey.
Overall,
65 per cent had ‘some form of regular caring responsibility’ for either
grandchildren, parents or dependent children under the age of 18.
Seventeen per cent were ‘sandwiched’, looking after the younger and older generation.
Women
shouldered most of the burden, with one in five spending more than ten
hours a week caring for others – not including time taken up by looking
after children living at home. This compared with 14 per cent of men.
Five
per cent of women spent 35 hours or more a week looking after parents
or grandchildren. Almost four in ten aged 55 had at least one
grandchild.
Nearly
six in ten grandparents reported that they looked after their
grandchildren at least once a month, providing an average of eight
hours’ care a week. However, one in ten offering regular help did so for
35 hours or more every week.
Overall, 65 per cent had ‘some form of
regular caring responsibility’ for either grandchildren, parents or
dependent children under the age of 18 (Picture posed by models)
Grandmothers
in particular provided ‘very regular childcare’, with 42 per cent
looking after grandchildren at least once a week. They provided ten
hours a week care on average. This compared with 32 per cent of
grandfathers, who carried out eight hours a week.
Those
who spent ten or more hours a week caring for grandchildren, parents or
both – not including time spent looking after children at home – were
‘considerably less likely’ to report their health was ‘excellent’ or
‘very good’ (40 per cent) compared with those who provided less than ten
hours (51 per cent).
They
were also less likely to say ‘that they often felt full of energy, that
their lives were full of opportunity, or that the future looked good’.
IoE
researchers said: ‘Our research shows that spending more than ten hours
a week caring for parents or grandchildren is associated with poorer
health and self-rated quality of life.’
Women
were hardest hit financially by providing high levels of care. They
were ‘significantly more likely not to be working than those spending
less time helping others’. Changes to the state pension age mean that
women will have to decide in future whether to leave paid employment
before they are 66 and live on less or juggle work with caring
responsibilities.
Professor
Alissa Goodman, the director of the NCDS, said: ‘Given the increased
pressures on people in their fifties, employers will need to be
encouraged to adopt “family friendly” working policies towards older
employees.’
The
study found 64 per cent of those 55-year-olds with a living parent
‘regularly or frequently’ helped them. The most common types of
assistance given to elderly relatives were giving lifts (45 per cent of
carers), shopping (38 per cent) and decorating, gardening or house
repairs (33 per cent).
Almost half of those surveyed had at least one child living at home. The average age of children still at home was 21.
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