Trying to decide whether or not to send your loved on to retirement centers or assisted living facilities is a tough choice. While on one hand, you want to be able to take care of them and make sure that they are receiving the best care possible; you also understand that you aren’t going to be able to keep up this level of care long term. You are going to need some help and that is okay. Studies have shown that children of elderly parents end up having a better relationship with their parents after they have put them in retirement centers. This is because there is the amount of pressure on them that there was before. The strain and tension has been removed because someone else is doing the care and the two parties can focus on restoring the relationship to what it was before. Here are a few reasons why that might happen after your parents have gone into senior living.
Your parents always took care of you.
For your entire life, your parents were probably your primary caretakers. They taught you the alphabet, how to eat, how to read and write, how to tie your shoe laces. They probably taught you how to ride a bike; they were there when you took your first steps. Now, you have to help them put on their clothes and shower and comb their hair. To you, this might seem like the cycle of life but to your parents, it’s heartbreaking. Once a parent, always a parent, so they say. Your parents are always going to want to take care of you and to have you taking care of them can be very frustrating and even embarrassing for them, no matter how much you tell them it’s okay. Sometimes, they don’t understand that they even need to be taken care of, but if they do, they would probably prefer someone that they don’t really know and is a trained professional. This way, they can keep their dignity and save face for family and friends.
You can’t understand what they are going through.
As much as you want to be their for your parents, what they are going through is very different to anything that you have ever experienced. You can’t really understand it until you go through it yourself. However, being in the retirement centers will give them the opportunity to meet people that are in the same situation as themselves. They will be able to talk and share experiences and be on the same level. This will even help them to figure out their new life and how to go about doing things and being themselves again. In most 1FLORIDA assisted living centers, socializing and meeting new people is very much encouraged. They usually have events and gatherings so that the residents can spend time with one another. It’s not that they don’t need you anymore because in fact, they do very much, but they need to be able to connect with people in the same stage of life.
The facility is centered around what they need.
At home, it can be difficult because they may not have the handrails, widen doorways and adjustable beds that they need. There are various logistics about getting older that are met in retirement centers. However, with you around, constantly holding them and helping them, it can get annoying and you can seem to come off as to involved and in the way. They may not like the feeling of being so dependent on you. In 2FLORIDA senior living facilities, they will have everything at the correct levels, heights and widths to be able to facilitate the needs of your loved ones. This means that there will be a higher level of independence that your parents will be able to cling to.
There are various other reasons, such as the care staff knows what signs to look out for if your parent isn’t happy or the fact that the burden of care is no longer on your shoulders. Basically, what it comes down to is that your parent wants a normal parent-child relationship with you and doesn’t want their child taking care of them anymore.
