Are you planning to move your elderly parent to an assisted living community? After all, not only are assisted living communities incredibly beneficial for your loved ones (such as enhanced physical, mental, and social life), but they might even be a necessity for your parent.
This is because as your parent progresses to their golden years, their needs will increase, and sometimes it goes beyond what you or caregivers can provide. With that said, it may be difficult to talk to your siblings about this situation. Not to worry, we’re here to help you with that.
Gather Everyone Together
It is definitely beneficial to arrange a gathering between you and your siblings so that everyone can be on the same page. After all, it is a great way to address concerns regarding the needs or care of your elderly parents.
Not to mention, this is crucial because, unlike your siblings, you could have different ideas about how things should be done. At the same time, the fact that your siblings and you may be aware of some of your parents’ care demands.
In fact, we also recommend having the gathering at an earlier time frame to reduce the stress of trying to cover everything so last minute.
Create a To-Do List
It might be useful to make a list of everything that needs to be done, or a to-do list if you must during the gathering with your siblings. This to-do list should consider things that are currently functioning well, and change up what isn’t working so well. Not to mention, prioritizing the list and delegating what duties need to be given should be things you and your siblings need to consider.
For instance, if your parent has recently been hospitalized and has been released home, start with the duties pertaining to their present requirements.
Delegating the Tasks
As previously mentioned, delegating tasks is a great way to talk about the shift for your parent. Not only is it more efficient, but it can also get everyone on board, and allows everyone to feel a sense of involvement with their parent.
As you divide up the chores, it may be useful to take into account where each of you is located in relation to your parents. For instance, if you and your parent both reside in the same city, you can decide to take on more practical responsibilities like arranging for meals, taking your parent to the doctor, and grocery shopping.
On the other hand, if you live further away, you can always opt for WhatsApp, Skype, or FaceTime to catch up with your parent, and help with other tasks like financial planning and providing emotional support.
With that said, you can also mention how if at any point in time anyone feels too burdened by the number of tasks, everyone is free to reach out and redelegate the tasks between siblings.
Create and Respect Boundaries
Having boundaries is definitely a good thing, but it is also incredibly important in the case of discussing the shift of your parent. After all, in this case, you might feel like there is an expectation that you must fulfil your obligations and do whatever has to be done at the expense of your own needs and boundaries.
Without boundaries, it can become incredibly unhealthy and difficult for you or your siblings. Therefore, you and your siblings need to create your own boundaries and respect them.
