What To Expect When Grandparents Are Moving In

Many different circumstances may lead to your house becoming multi-generational, having three or more generations live together under the same roof. It may be the result of a slow economy, or health issues, or perhaps you just want to have your parents back in your household for family values. Whatever the reason is, this article will provide you with some tips to help you and your family enjoy each other’s company.

When having your parent move in to your home on a permanent basis, you need to talk to your children. While they may have a great relationship with them, living under one roof will bring up new issues and questions for your child. Be open and honest with your child. If your parent is ailing, explain it to your child in terms he or she can understand.

If your children are going to be a part of the care giving for a grandparent, provide certain tasks for them to complete. Get your child involved in taking responsibility and providing a loving place where your parents feel safe and has all of his or her needs met. If your child is concerned about such things as what may happen if their grandparent falls, or gets hurt, or needs more help than they can offer, consider getting a medical alert system. This may put your own mind at ease, in case a situation presents itself where you cannot offer all of the assistance they need.

When planning your parents move, take time to thoughtfully consider where you will have them stay. Of course, the ideal situation would be to offer them their own bedroom. However, if this is not a reality for you, find a place where your parent can go when they need some alone time. Choose a quiet place in your home, where he or she can go when they need to just relax, or reflect on thoughts and feelings. If your children try to pester, grandma and grandpa try having them help to create a “do not disturb” sign, which your parent can place on the doorknob when they need to be alone.

Allowing another person to move in to your home will be a big adjustment for everyone who is involved. In order to minimize the impact, try to have family meetings at least once a day. Due to busy schedules, finding a time where everyone can get together may be challenging. However, having a set time to see each other, catch up on what is going on and also talking through problems will be very beneficial to all members of your family and will encourage close relationships. Even if you can only find a few minutes each day, when everyone is in the house at the same time, use it wisely.

If possible, before your parent moves into your home take the time to sit down with them and the rest of your family and establish rules for the house. Put these rules in writing and hang them in a central place of the house, where everyone can see them. In your list of rules, include items such as each person’s responsibilities and the times chores should be done. Also, create a plan for how you will all handle conflicts amongst each other. The more you are able to anticipate problems and resolutions, the better things will go when the issues arise.

Always respect each other in your home. Everyone should understand that each member of your family is a unique individual. No one will have the same views or thoughts on situations. Because of this, it is important that you all agree to disagree at one time or another. Understand it will happen expect it to happy and make the most out of the situation.  In your list of house rules, which you created in the step above, add in your plan for handling conflicts. Allow each member of the family to state their side of the story without being interrupted. Agree that when one person is speaking, everyone else will concentrate on listening. Once all sides have been discussed, ask for suggestions from each member of the family about how to solve the problem. Chances are talking it out with others will allow part of the frustration to dissipate. Be compassionate with each other and treat each other as if they were friends. Many times people tend to treat their friends much better than they treat family members, however, friends tend to come and go, while families are together forever.

Chris is a blogger who likes to write about many things, including technology, computers, family life, and more. You can find him on Google+ and Twitter.

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