3 Tips For Caring For Both Your Parents And Your Children

Once you become an adult and leave your parent’s home, you likely find yourself thinking about your own future family. But for many people today, their home and family life may wind up including multiple generations all under one roof.

If you become responsible for the care of both your elderly parents and your own children, you might find yourself overwhelmed, understaffed, and essentially running on empty. But with the right plan, you can make running a household of both older adults and younger children work to the benefit of all involved.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for caring for both elder home care and caring for your children simultaneously. 

Let Your Children Help

While you might be a parent who loves to take care of their children and other family members, when there are more needs to be met with the addition of your own parents in the home, it’s time to let your children learn some responsibility, regardless of their age.

According to TheMemoryCenter.com, allowing your children to help both around the house and with the care of their grandparents can not only help them feel like they have more control over what’s going on around them, but can also help everyone in the home to have more open communication with one another. So depending on the age and maturity of your children, consider giving them tasks that will aid in the overall functionality of the home and family. 

Decide To Be Okay With The Decisions You Make

When you have so many things on your plate, you’re going to find that you’ll have to make decisions that won’t always be easy. At times, you might feel pulled in various different directions. 

And while it can be hard to choose who to fill your time, once you’ve made the decision, it’s important that you learn how to be okay with what you’ve decided. According to Carol Bradley Bursack, a contributor to AgingCare.com, it’s easy for caregivers to hold themselves to too high of a standard. So rather than always second guessing things, try to learn to be okay with how you’re choosing to use your time and resources. 

Don’t Forget To Care For Yourself As Well

As you spend the majority of your time taking care of your other family members, Paula Banks, a contributor to EmpoweringParents.com, reminds us to not forget about care for ourselves.

When your well is empty, you can’t expect to give anything to anyone else. So to keep yourself performing at the level of care you want, you’ve got to find time for self-care along the way.

If you’ll soon be caring for both your parents and your children, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you figure out how to do this successfully.