This term describes some adults who not only have kids, but also are taking care of aging parents.
Some nontraditional students going back to school after a break are now caregivers for their parents.
So what can this mean? It all depends. It depends how parents have planned for being ill or needing care. And it depends how brothers or sisters plan to help.
Some nontraditional students are stuck between the proverbial rock and the hard place.
How can a nontraditional student go back to school and spend time on studies, when Mom or Dad needs him or her? This can be a really hard question.
Does Mom or Dad want to stay at home? How can they pay for help?
I can see how taking care of Mom or Dad could make school or even a full-time job impossible.
Check out this posting about the Sandwich Generation. It has lots of great links to help with taking care of elderly parents.
And leave a comment. Are you in this situation? How are you coping with it? Are you going to have to make some hard decisions?
I would love to hear your story.
Betsyanne
Current (art) and former (education) nontraditional student.
And here are some more Nontrad links:
The Nontrad site and blog
Join Nontrads on Facebook
Nontrads on Yahoo, and
Nontrads on Twitter