Your parents should be your source of strength, not stress. However, as they age, they might become helpless and would need every kind of help from you. When your parents can’t take care of themselves anymore, you have to decide if you’ll bring them home with you or you’ll talk to granny flat builders so they can still live in privacy but with some supervision. Here are some other ways to support your ageing parents:
Home and Support
One of the ways you can support your parents is to help them call granny flat builders in your Melbourne location. Well, you can also do that yourself and surprise them when it’s done. You can also help them financially — if you have the money to provide — in case they need funds to build one. Help them transition to their new home to show how much they mean to you.
Consider the needs of your parents. For example, you can ask yourself, “Does everything needs to be automatic or not so much?” You should also check out if the granny flat plan is safe and comfortable enough for your parents. Choose the one that can meet all your loved one’s requirements.
Parents and Connection
Elderly people can be moody because they don’t like the idea of being helpless. This is common in those who have strong personalities or were achievers in the peak of their careers. Understand their moods and teach yourself to adjust even if it’s hard so that you can help your parents as they age.
Contact them regularly if you live far away. Your parents may become moody, but they still want to hear your voice and be updated to how you’re doing. Visit them when you can. If you’re married, take your partner and the kids with you so that they know how much they are loved.
Ask your other siblings (if you have) to help out in taking care of your parents. Don’t shoulder everything when you can ask everyone else. This will keep the family closer because you’re uniting for your parents.
Your Parents and their Mental Health
Encourage your parents to stay active. This might be hard if they’re losing interest in activities that once gave them pleasure. Reintroduce them slowly to those activities and try to make it colourful by introducing them to new ones. Make sure the new activities you have in mind are safe and easy for people their age.
Lastly, help them remember everything. Help them document precious memories that they will need in the last years of their lives. Put together photos, letters, videos, etc. Do this with them to show that you aren’t forgetting them and you want them to be happy.
Your parents may become frail as they age, but this doesn’t mean they should be left in the dark. Encourage them and include them in your new family. Show them your appreciation by becoming a constant in their life. After all, they were the most important people in your life in your formative years.