4 Ways to Adapt to Your Parents Getting Older

Getting older is a fact of life. We all know we're going to age, even if the age that we ultimately reach is different for everyone. But even if you're accepting of your own aging, it can be a little more difficult to see the people you love getting older. Watching your parents or other relatives, or even friends, change as they age is often difficult to adjust to. It can mean seeing them slow down physically, as well as cognitively. They might change in other ways too, such as their general mood or disposition, or even their opinions. As your parents get older, there are ways you can adjust and be there for them.

Help with care needs

Older people will often begin to require a little bit of extra help as they age. Getting older can affect your mobility and other aspects of your health and independence. When your parents are finding it a little more difficult to remain independent, you might be able to help them out with additional care needs in a number of ways. Requiring care doesn't always mean moving into assisted living or a nursing home. It can often mean just needing a little help with things like cleaning or preparing meals.

Change how you communicate

Sometimes it's necessary to change how you communicate with your parents as you get older. This is something that tends to change over time anyway, especially as you become an adult and are on a more level playing field with your parents. One thing that you might need to consider is hearing loss communication strategies. If one of your parents is hard of hearing, you might have to adjust how you speak to them so that they can still understand you. You can also benefit from changing your communication approach when you need to talk about difficult topics so that they're more receptive.

Take steps to protect them

As people get older, they can become more vulnerable. They might experience some cognitive decline or they could just be a bit too trusting. Helping to protect your parents is one of the important things that you can do as they get older. There are a few ways you might do this, including ensuring they can handle their finances and providing help if they can't. You can warn them about common scams and how to avoid them. It's also helpful to be involved in their medical care when needed.

Discuss important topics

When your parents are getting older, you might need to have some tough conversations with them. It can be hard when they're the parent and you're the child and might feel awkward talking about seemingly private topics. But talking about things like care needs, finances, health, and even death is important if you want to make sure your parents have a good quality of life as they get older.

It can be hard to watch your parents grow old, but there are lots of things you can do to support them.