How to get a good relationship with ageing parents
As you get older, your relationships with loved ones around you can change. This can be true when considering the relationship you have with your own parents.
As both you and they age, the dynamics of the relationship can often evolve within the realms of the parent-child bond, and while you will still be their child, you are now an adult too and dynamics can change. What are the best ways to help you keep a healthy and supportive relationship with your parents as they reach their senior years?
Pay Attention
No matter how close you are, there’ll always be some details you might miss. As you get older, changes in people’s behaviour can be subtle at first and quite often missed, especially if you don’t see them face to face regularly.
Watch for signs to indicate health issues
If forgotten words, or missed dates, or slight confusion when recalling details starts to happen, keep track of it. These may seem insignificant at first, but the small details become bigger issues that need addressing overtime.
Schedule regular visits
Visiting regularly or calling regularly can make a world of difference, especially if your parents cannot get out much. One common factor amongst the ageing community is that they unanimously feel surplus to their children’s lives once they reach a certain age. Loneliness is a silent killer amongst the older generations and can be more detrimental to their health than any physical illness or ailment. If you’re not able to visit your elderly loved ones as regularly as you’d like, then it may be worth looking at chelseaseniorliving.com/
Discuss the important details
It can be hard to broach particular topics with your parents. After all, they did raise you, and the last thing you want to do is undermine their confidence. But skirting around bigger issues can have consequences, especially if your parents are struggling with poor health, mobility, or showing signs of memory loss.
Talk to them about what they want to happen should they no longer be able to support themselves. Be it the idea of moving to a retirement property such as Boughton Hall retirement village, assisted living options locally to you, or a nursing home that can supply round the clock care and assistance.
Maximise their quality of life
This can be in many different ways, but sometimes, people need assistance to help them live their lives the way they want to. After all, they have worked and raised a family their whole lives, and now they have the time to dedicate to themselves. The last thing they want to do is waste this time.
Be available to assist them in making the best decisions for them for this next part of their lives. Be it allowing them the freedom to travel without emotional attachments, take extended holidays, choose how they want to live their lives from now on and anything else they may need.
Just because they are now older, it doesn’t mean they don’t need your support. Respect their decisions and look for a way to support them to help you maintain a good relationship.
*this is a collaborative post.
