The Importance of Continuing a Positive Relationship with your Aging Parents
The Importance of Continuing a Positive Relationship with your Aging Parents
Throughout my career in working with older adults, building and maintaining a relationship with your aging parent is something that's very near and dear to my heart. It always stands out to me when adult children make a conscious effort to foster a relationship with their aging parent. Knowing what’s important to their parent and how they can be a supportive role in their lives can have a huge impact on both the parent and the adult child’s quality of life. This established relationship helps immensely for assessing parents’ needs as they age and discussing lifestyle changes to support their wellbeing.
If asked to be involved in making decisions for an aging parent’s health and quality of life, it is important to make those decisions with them, not for them. Stepping in as a support role for a parent can lend itself to the adult child assuming responsibility for the parent as a whole. Even when done with the best of intentions, this can often lead to leaving the parent out of important discussions with family members, doctors, and other healthcare professionals regarding their parent’s wellbeing. In some cases, such as cognitive decline or memory loss, the adult child may need to be the decision-maker in regards to getting their parent the help they need, but they can still fulfill that support role by being an advocate for their parent throughout the process. Overall, when your aging parent feels heard and understood, you’ll find they’re more likely to consider making a change to support their health and wellbeing.
Relationships between children and their parent are ever-evolving, but in the later stages of life or through times of transition and change, those relationships are so prevalent. If you know your parent would benefit from a change in their lifestyle, but you’re having trouble communicating that, consider us a resource. With over 25 years of experience working with aging adults and their families, we enjoy the opportunity to be a part of your lives in a really positive way. When considering a lifestyle change like moving to a retirement community or receiving additional care, we can help navigate all of the moving parts to make big decisions and transitions a little easier on everyone involved. In the meantime, continue to build and maintain your relationship with your parent so you can be a support role that makes sure their wishes continue to be heard and understood.
- Larry Gadeken, Executive Director, The Legacy