While India and many other countries have been following the trend of ‘westernization’ for decades now, which has, till a major extent, distanced the country’s people from their own culture and traditions, now, a drastic change is taking place in the USA, which forces us to think whether the USA is going the India way! The people of the country are now accepting a way of life which has been followed by Indians since time immemorial.
The American society is changing, with joint families increasing rapidly here. Now, 23 percent of the adults are living with their parents and grandparents. As per AARP’s survey, the number of ‘sandwich families’ went up from 28 to 30 percent between 2015 and 2020. In the USA, the people who look after their parents aged above 65 years, and their adult children, while working, are known as the ‘sandwich generation’.
It is also believed that such people fall prey to stress while taking care of their families and handling the responsibilities associated. But with time, such families have learned the skill of maintaining balance between parents and children, and now, they are not calling it a burden of responsibilities, but emotional attachment. AARP Vice President, Patty David, says that the concept of the sandwich generation needs to be changed. She adds that it is crucial to understand as to what is happening in their world, and how government aid can be made available for these families.
In the Policy Genius Sandwich Generation Survey, 60 percent people accepted that because of taking care of their parents and children, they are facing economic hardships. This group, on an average, spends 9 lakh rupees and 1350 hours annually on their children and parents. With 1 lakh signatures, a petition has been filed that such families should be provided with economic aid and medical leaves by the Parliament.
