As one generation ages, the care of parents often falls to the responsibility of their adult children, resulting in what has been labelled child-parent role reversal. With this role-reversal, it naturally brings along a great deal of stress as new and unfamiliar responsibilities land in the lap of the adult child. Similarly for the parent, aging brings its own stress as health needs and capabilities change. In fact, retirement is listed as one of the top ten most stressful life events!
In the midst of all this stress, we would like to share some ideas from Healthcare Therapy Services to help reduce stress and help improve the transition of child-parent role reversal.
- Evaluate and plan accordingly. Not all seniors need around-the-clock skilled nursing care. Senior living communities can offer many different levels of care, from independent living in a community of senior adults to assisted living. Evaluating or helping evaluate the social, physical, and medical needs, as well as the finances of an ageing parent can help you find the best solutions.
- Communicate with all family members involved. If there are multiple members of one family concerned with the care of a parent, there may also be many different opinions as to the best options for care. One sibling may believe that their parent is doing great while the other may be convinced that they are unsafe or unwell. Communication among all the people concerned is vital, including communication with the parent.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are many resources available to caretakers when it comes to evaluating and identifying the needs, medical, social, physical, or otherwise. Senior Living Communities such as Tealridge offer many different options for senior care in varying levels to best meet the needs of aging parents. Our staff has years of experience and can help advise on where your parent’s needs are best cared for.
With these steps, the daunting task of determining care for an aging parent is hopefully made a little bit easier. Of course, we are always here to help! We at Tealridge Assisted Living and Memory Care want to be available to be used as a valuable resource in determining your best options for senior care. Click here to contact us.
