Getting older is a necessary part of life. This can be tough for all parties involved, especially when you are a parent yourself looking after your mom and dad. Gone are the days when they cared for you; now, you might even be considered their primary carer. In fact, there are roughly 53 million American adults who function as caregivers for an elderly parent, relative, special-needs child, or spouse.
With this type of responsibility, you might begin to feel overwhelmed. There are numerous ways that you can soften the blow of being in charge. Thankfully, this post outlined three of the best ways to ensure you care for your parents and your children in the most effective manner.
Consider Everyone’s Needs
When you are looking after the older and younger generations of your family, you are likely being pulled in all directions. This can be a difficult task to balance as everyone has very individual needs, and you will have to make tough decisions at times. Most commonly, you will have to choose who you attend to and when. While your parents have important medical appointments and require assistance with their basic needs and transport, your children will be going through very significant milestones.
The best way to deal with this issue is to think about whose needs are the most urgent. This should be done objectively, but you might be able to delegate certain tasks to others if you have help available. For example, is it possible that one of your siblings or other family members can drive your mom to her doctor’s appointment, allowing you to attend your son’s parent-teacher meeting? Not all problems will be resolved this way, so you might have to say “no” at times.
Ask for Help
As previously mentioned, having other people to help you can be very beneficial. There will be times when you are unable to complete all of your duties when caring for your parents and raising your own kids. Many people will be unsure how they can help, but they will be more than happy to do so with the right instructions. All you have to do is let them know that you need a helping hand.
Looking at the tasks that can be completed by other individuals will give you a good starting point. This might include helping your parents with food shopping, batch-cooking food for the week, or picking the kids up from school a few days per week. It might be more difficult if those who could help live miles away, but they can still pay the odd visit now and again; this will help with the social aspects, especially if your elderly parents are housebound a lot.
However, you might also want to find professional help with some responsibilities, especially if your parents have specific care needs. Using Visiting Angels El Cajon – Senior Home Care Services, for example, can allow you to recharge and take care of your own needs. This service, and many others like it, offer comprehensive home care that is personalized to meet each person’s needs and preferences.
Streamline Your Tasks
There will be numerous jobs you need to complete in a day, all the while caring for both your parents and your children. It is important to restructure and simplify tasks as you go through. These changes do not need to be grand; instead, focus on making small adjustments that make it easier to complete jobs as you go along. Planning and keeping note of these can make the process simpler.
Creating a plan for your day or week, or longer as a Google Spreadsheet can enable you to determine when you can complete your own tasks. It will also allow you to coordinate care with other family members. Google Spreadsheets, which can be opened via a shared URL, can be edited by all that have been granted access
To conclude, it can be a challenge if you are raising young children, but you also have to care for your parents. Not only will this help with your mental health and kids, it will ensure your senior parents will be around for many more years to come.
