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It really starts with you… and your attitude, approach and response to your aging parent!
Whenever you are helping your parent face a crisis or change, start out by following these 3 tips. These actions will give you insight into your parent’s needs, values and what’s really important to them. You’ll find yourself more open and empathetic to your parents. You’ll also be building a foundation of trust and understanding….a real key to helping them.
Here are my 3 simple but powerful tips:
- Slow down. We live in such a fast paced world. You literally have to slow yourself and your pace down. Put aside any distractions. Fully focus on your parent. One common phrase I hear from older adults, “I need more time to sort through or deal with…..” They are trying to make sense of the monumental change going on in their lives. Slow yourself down, allow the process to slow down, enter their world and share in their journey.
- Listen. Drop any pre-conceived ideas about what’s best for your parent. Stop the chatter in your mind. If you will just be silent, your parents will discover they are in a safe place, and they will begin to share….what their fears and concerns are, what their hopes are. You will learn what’s really important to them.
- Observe. Observe their daily routine, the way they move, what they struggle with. Also watch as they interact with their friends and the people and world around them. Remember our parents are not defined by their illness or diagnosis, whether it’s Alzheimer’s, loss of mobility or whatever. They are still very much a whole person, and we must understand and respond to them as whole persons and all of their needs ….. their physical, cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual needs.
If you like these tips and want to hear more, you can check out my new book, “Transitioning Your Aging Parent: A 5 Step Guide to Crisis & Change”. Click here.
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