Family

3 Tips When Looking After Children & Grandparents

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Any parent out there knows the challenge of looking after their kids. But there comes a point when you have to look after your children, but also your parents are getting to the age where they can’t look after themselves. And in-between all of these you’ve got to figure out how to look after yourself as well! And when we begin to consider the magnitude of this duty we can very easily get overwhelmed. So what can we do to make sure that we are looking after everybody?

Professional Help

If you’ve already discussed the idea with your parents of them going to a home, this doesn’t make it any easier. There can be numerous anxieties felt all around, especially when it comes to issues like elder abuse. And while this is something that we don’t want to think about it, it may be something we have got to prepare ourselves for.

If your parents happen to be terminally ill, consider looking into hospice care even if it’s short-term. Hospice care billing makes the process much easier for all parties involved that way you can focus and spend more time with your loved ones. Keep in mind that professional help may be essential if you’re trying to balance everything.

Structuring Family Time With Everyone

When you have young children you may feel the temptation to shield them from bad news. But when you are doing your best to visit your parents whenever possible, even though they are unwell, it’s important to include everyone. This can make it easier on yourself, especially when you are trying to cram in everything. Taking the opportunity to spend time with everybody under one roof can be a way to recapture some normality. It’s a good idea, especially if you’ve got young children, so they can spend time with their grandparents.

Making Time For Yourself

You may think this to be impossible. But the time for yourself isn’t necessarily about the hour in the gym that you are used to. It’s about putting the right practices in place so you are able to cope with what is coming your way. Whether your parents are in a home or not, or you need to spend a few hours every weekend shopping for your parents, it’s important to put practices in place so you can look after your frame of mind. While it might not feel like you have time to do anything, if you can take 10 minutes in the morning to center yourself, this will work towards giving you the balance you need to cope with a stressful day. 

When we are looking after our parents and our children, as well as work, we can feel pulled in so many different directions that we wonder how we can cope. Parents and children have different needs but we need to remember we have needs as well. Structuring family time is important but you also have to become acutely aware of your triggers. If you are someone who gets stressed easily, recognizing this and taking a step back is as important. It’s not an easy thing having to look after two sets of people with different needs but it is increasingly becoming a common part of modern life.

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