When we had our first baby there was a tiny feeling of "how do I really take care of this tiny person?" Thank goodness for maternal instincts! Baby number 2-5 came along and I was feeling like a pro at the baby thing. Well, as they grew I grew right along with them. We muttled through experiences together. A ton of mistakes were made parenting along the way. It just seemed normal to go through that process. I suppose there are a ton of instruction manuals that offer a ton of philosophies on how to care for our babies, children, teens, and young adults. There are materials designed to help them launch into being an independent person.
What doesn't seem normal is being the parent figure to your own parents! There is definitely the feeling of " how do I really take care of this older person?" The same is true about references being available to help us care for an aging parent. What gets in the way is that they are still the parent!!! It feels wrong telling your parent how a certain situation is going to be. Or having to explain why they can no longer be an independent person. There really isn't any good material on how to be a parent to your parent! It's just awkward any way you look at it!
I love my parents! But they're not cooperative anymore. It's not easy seeing them decline. I worry about giving my children the same issues to deal with. How do we break this cycle? How do we create an instruction manual that will make their job of being the parent figure to us easier and less stressful?
