How to Help Your Children Adapt to Your Elderly Loved One

Elderly Care in Perth Amboy NJ

As your elderly loved one needs more and more of your time and your attention, the children in your life may find the entire experience more difficult to maneuver. It might have been fun having your elderly loved one around at first, but changes can be tough for kids.

Kids Lose Some Attention

When your elderly loved one becomes a big focus for the family, the kids do lose some of the attention that they’re used to receiving. If you can include them in activities with your elderly loved one, which can help quite a bit. It can also be helpful to sit down with the children and have a frank talk about why your elderly loved one needs as much attention as she is getting.

Kids Don’t Always Understand Changes in the Elderly Loved One’s Behavior

As your elderly loved one copes with her changing health, she can exhibit changes in her behavior that aren’t easy for even adults to understand. Kids can have even more difficulty with these behavioral changes because they may not understand the underlying causes behind them. Alzheimer’s disease or dementia can be particularly difficult for children to understand because there’s no injury that they can see or comprehend as being the cause.

Kids Need Schedules and Routines

Kids thrive on routines and schedules that give them an idea what to expect from each day, each week, and life in general. Helping an elderly loved one can mean that those carefully established schedules sometimes take a beating. Children feel that disruption as chaos and don’t always function well in the midst of chaos. Do your best to set up a new schedule that accommodates everyone’s needs.

Kids Need Communication 

Even if you can’t tell the children everything about what’s going on, a little bit of communication can go a long way. It’s important that the kids feel that they can share their emotions with you, even the not-so-nice emotions. Having that outlet, knowing that they can talk to you openly, can help them to work through those emotions in a more stable manner. Try setting up regular times to have these kinds of talks with them.

You can also ask your loved one’s elderly care providers for tips about helping kids to adapt to having your elderly loved one around more often.

If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Perth Amboy, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care of New Brunswick today. Call (732) 607-8870.