What Alyce Thinks

The 3 things our parents need from us as they get older

September 28, 2018February 25, 2019 by Alyce Vayle No Comments

Our parents gave up so much for us during their lives, right? Never had people in their later years ever had to take on so much. A few generations ago, people were more able to live out their retirement years in peace and quiet, now we often find grandparents taking care of their grandkids, helping their adult children out financially, and working much later in life. Where I live, in Australia, there are talks of raising the pension age to 70! That’s a lot of time in the workforce.

Our older parents deserve our respect. They also would consider your happiness to be one of their biggest priorities, so it is important that the relationships goes both ways. So, what do people need from us as they get older? What are the three key messages we should take note of?

Your parents need more respect

Feeling that they are respected is very important. “Respect is given to those who conduct themselves with integrity and treat others with dignity,” says WikiHow. “If you respect yourself and set yourself up as an example of respect and good behavior, the only thing you have left to do is pay respect to others.” Make sure you treat your parents with respect, and never let small differences affect your relationship.

Your parents want to maintain their independence

Everybody needs their independence, and it is what we all cling on to, the freedom to do what we want. And as we get older, we would like to think that we’d all have our independence. There are organisations and facilities where you can get advice and support on caring for elderly relatives.

Your parents want to remain involved in your life

But if you have children, your parents want to see them. They want involvement in your life, no matter how limited it is. It can be incredibly isolating as you get older, and things don’t begin to work as well as they used to, and as a result, loneliness can creep in.

Summary