We never want to think about what would happen to us if we develop a serious disease or even have a disability. We wouldn’t be able to take care of our family like we used to, and we certainly wouldn’t be able to live like we used to. Just because things change, however, doesn’t mean that your life is over. You can be a great parent even living with serious health conditions, just follow this guide to help you get started:
Explain it to Them
Regardless of whether your children are young or older, you will need to explain your illness or disability to them. If they don’t understand what you cannot do and why you cannot do them, they will have a hard time adapting and helping you out. This is particularly important for younger children, who might not understand why you cannot play hide and seek with them anymore. By explaining what you have in a simple way, your children can better adapt to their new situation.
Improve Your At-Home Care
Your family isn’t just your children, either. Include more of your family by allow them to help you out. If you have a sister living nearby that can help you out around the house, then you have a potential at-home caretaker trained and paid for by the CDPAP. FreedomCare will help you enroll in the CDPAP program, which will then train your loved one to help you at no cost to you, as CDPAP is paid for by Medicare in New York State. This means you can bring your family closer together, and not worry about the costs. This is the ideal way to strengthen a family, because your care comes from your family.
Find New Ways to Spend Time with Them
Reading to young children is a great way to bond with them and help them improve their reading comprehension skills. The same applies to simple crafts, watching movies, helping them with their homework, or even playing video games. All of these non-strenuous activities are perfect for when disaster strikes and your body has paid the price. You can have fun and you can spend time with them just like you did before, you just need to be open to calmer, quieter activities.
Stay Connected
Technology has changed so much about how we communicate, and once your children have phones, you can stay connected wherever they are. Get in the habit of messaging them and having them send fun photos to you about their day. This isn’t embarrassing and it isn’t you checking up on them. It’s just a more dynamic way to communicate. Send jokes, articles, and videos that you find on the internet and have more casual conversations with your kids than you ever have before.
The more involved you are with your family, the better you and they can deal with the change in your life. Stay connected and find new ways to spend time together that works with your condition, rather than against it. Do this, and you will find that your outlook greatly improves and your family gets closer than ever.