Holiday Cookies: Adult Child/Parent Relationships
By: Alicia Stallings on (0 comments)
As we age and get our own lives and families, we may begin to spend less and less time with our parents. Even though they may not say anything because they know you’re busy, and they do not wish to stress you out, or to seem needy, the fact is that parents want to see the children who they spent decades raising, whether they say it or not. Particularly during the holidays, when memories of the past flow like eggnog, your parents may find themselves missing you. Here are a few suggestions for how you can reach out to your father and mother during the Holidays, which will leave them with a warm feeling to last them the rest of the year:
-Plan a Holiday gathering at their home-for which you do all the preparing: buy and put up the decorations, buy and cook the food, make a guest list and send the invitations. If you can you find the numbers of old friends of your parents,’ call and invite them. It will make for a great Holiday gathering, and a wonderful surprise.
-Go over and put-up decorations for your parents. As your parents age, they may be less able to reach, lift, balance, and bend, and to do all the other things that are required to put up decorations. So they may opt not to put up signs of the season, although they would really like to. Make an afternoon out of spending time with your parents and helping them decorate the home, inside and out, as they would like. Extend the favor to take down the decorations as well (in a timely fashion). Spending time with your parents in this way will be appreciated for numerous reasons: primarily because they get to see you, and also because you are helping to make their season bright.
Make time for Face Time-For all the talk about technology decreasing human interaction, in some ways, technology can greatly enhance our interactions. For instance, if you live far from your parents, and are not able to visit them often or to get home for the Holidays, using programs such as Skype or the Face Time feature on the i-Phone can allow you to connect with your parents in a way that letters, emails and phone calls do not allow. If you anticipate moving away in the near future, or you live away now, take time during this Holiday to teach your parents how to Skype or the Face Time feature. Aside from the initial shock of having to learn something new, they will really appreciate your effort and the benefits. On a similar note…
Give your parents gifts to allow them to better connect with their children and grand-children:
Examples of this sort of gift are: airline or train tickets, a cellular phone or phone card, or something with a camera for video calls, such as a laptop with a camera, a web-cam to be attached to an existing computer, or an iPhone. However, whatever gift you give, make sure to also offer assistance to your parents in learning how to use it.
Give your parents an album or scrapbook of significant images
Memories are great gifts no matter what time of year it is. Compile a book of pictures, notes and whatever else you think would evoke warm thoughts. Everyone loves to reminisce. Give your parents things to think about.
Try one of these other Holiday Cookie types:
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