There Often Are Communication Problems Between Caregivers and Their Parents
If you are caring for an elderly parent, there are age related communication problems with which you might have to deal. This article will consider communication problems often due to old age. It does not discuss communication problems due to the medical issues of your loved one.
The hearing ability of your loved one might decline with age, especially if your loved one does not want to use a hearing aid. Having to talk louder than usual can seem unnatural to you and can make you feel uncomfortable.
Cognitive decline in old age might cause your loved one to process information and to speak more slowly than you. This can make your loved one to feel rushed and you to feel impatient in your communications with one another. This also might make your loved one frustrated if your conversations have topics that shift too quickly.
For much of your lives, you have been dependent upon your parent. You and your parent might find that a reversal of these roles in old age is troubling.
These are only several of the many issues that might affect your communication effectiveness with your parent. To be a good caregiver, you should work to keep communication with your parent as good as possible.
Consider the idiom, “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” This article has forewarned you of several of the many issues that can affect good communication between you and your parent. If you are more aware of and can anticipate many of these problems, you might be able to more effectively deal with these problems. For example, you might speak more slowly to your parent and shift topics of conversation less often.
Keep in mind 1 Corinthians 16:14 that reads, “Let all that you do be done in love.”
What communication issues between you and your parent have you noticed?
