Tips to Stay Connected With Your Aging Parents

All relationships evolve, including your relationship with your parents. If you’re lucky, you’ve had multiple evolutions at different stages of both your lives. And as your parents enter their senior years and you take on a role as a family caregiver, the relationship will change once more.

Many positives can come from becoming a caregiver for one’s parents, but there can also be some challenges. It’s common to feel a sense of loss as you start to care for an aging loved one. But you don’t have to mourn your past relationship with your parents. Instead, find ways to reconnect and build a more meaningful relationship with your older loved ones.

Educate Yourself

As your parents age, they will gradually undergo physical and mental changes. Everyone’s aging experience is different, and some people are lucky enough to experience subtle changes that don’t significantly impact their lives. However, it’s also possible your parents will develop a condition that impacts their day-to-day lives. Educating yourself on what they’re experiencing can help you build empathy toward their situation and allow you to be more forgiving and accepting of their actions.

Respect Your Parents' Choices and Independence

One of the most nerve-racking parts of aging for many people is the fear of losing their independence. Even if you’re acting as a family caregiver toward your parents, it’s important to allow your parents to make choices and remain independent as long as they can. You don’t have to agree with everything they do, but allow them to continue to have some autonomy over their lives.

Focus on Communication

Communication is an essential part of building and maintaining any relationship. It helps you and your aging parent stay on the same page about the assistance they need as they age and the comfort you have in providing that care. Strong communication also ensures you express your thoughts and feelings with each other and do not let emotions build up.

Have Fun Together

It’s easy to fall into a caregiver/client role with an aging loved one and lose the playful bond you once had as parents and children. Bring back the lightness in your relationship by planning a fun day together.

• Go to a movie: See a movie with your loved one at the Harkins Theatre. This theatre offers on-screen captioned films and hosts family-friendly events and film series.
• Spend an afternoon downtown: Enjoy a day being a tourist in your city with an afternoon exploring all the local shops and restaurants in downtown Flagstaff.
• Go to a museum: Check out an exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona. You can even sign up for one of their art classes or workshops together.

Hire a Professional Caregiver

Taking care of a loved one is a lot of work, and it’s not something you have to do alone. The compassionate team of home aides with Visiting Angels happily works alongside family caregivers, assisting seniors with nonmedical tasks like light housekeeping, meal preparations, medication reminders, personal grooming, and mobility.

Our agency also provides respite care, a temporary care service for family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties to relax and recharge.

Contact our Flagstaff office to learn more about at-home caregiving options with Visiting Angels.