“Old age is like a second childhood,” I remember my mom saying, as we found my granny becoming more stubborn and sensitive with age. It rings true for us all. With age, we all become mature and wiser and then again are seen possessing the irrational traits of childhood in us.
With age, the habits and quirks we develop over time become more pronounced. What was overlooked before can often later become overbearing. The nagging, the inflexible attitude, heath issues all make it difficult to care for old parents. Before you lose your temper, remember how much they put up with you during those teenage years or how they did not lose patience when you really crossed the limits. So take a deep breath and deal with them patiently and with love.
Here are some of the common behavioral traits that elderly possess and ways to manage them:
Obsessive cleaning: Most of our moms kept our homes spic and span. Being moms they were very strict about cleanliness and hygiene. But now the habit has become strictly obsessive. They are unhappy with the ways the washing machine cleans; they like to dust after the maid has finished just in case, sometimes when the maid doesn’t arrive, you find your mom, on the floor mopping!
With little care about the age and capacity, your mom is out there to fight the things called ‘dust and dirt’ and it drives you crazy when she complains of the joint ache and the stiff back the next day.
So what do you do?
Make a pact with your mom, that she will only clean for so and so time in the morning, rest of the day she will overlook the mess that comes her way. Persuade her to spend her time in things other than cleaning and mending the house- like gardening, listening to old songs, sewing, reading spiritual books or tell her join a new class like singing and painting.
Careless about health: It irritates you that in spite of telling them again and again, you find your parents ignoring the doctor’s advice. They go ahead and gorge on the puris, the meethais when no one’s looking. You find your dad still smoking “only two” a day.
You wonder why don’t they realize how precious their life is and just learn to take care of themselves.
They on the other hand, say with few years left why give up on simple pleasures of life?
So what do you do?
You don’t abolish the things they love. They are still allowed to eat the sweets, sugar free or just one small piece a day according to whatever the doctor advices, but only in your presence.
Make them realize that even one cigarette a day, or pegs on Sundays can really make their ailments worse. Tell them how difficult the complications will be. When nothing works again allow them to have it only once a week in your supervision.
Excessive Worrying: Your dad was the daredevil of his time, never hesitant to take risks. He was what you always wanted to become when old. Suddenly he has started worrying about small things like, when will you arrive from work, about the hazards of riding a bike and paranoid about sending your kid to play. Your mothers fares no better, but at least she was always the worrier in your family.
So what you do?
Reassure, is the word.
Hearing about negative news all the time and not being in the outer world more, makes hem insecure and afraid. Limit their News viewing and state your skepticism about the odds of all bad things happening to you.
If you are away from home, call them twice a day to assure them that everything’s fine and that you are okay. You could also distract them with a busy schedule even after retirement with meetings with family and friends and taking children out in parks, joining the senior citizen’s club etc.To read more about Dealing with the Annoying Habits of Old age
Medimanage
Medimanage Health Insurance India
There are no posts related to Dealing with the Annoying Habits of Old age.
