Communicating unpleasant news to your loved ones is never easy especially if they are your parents and if they are old. It should be handled gracefully since senior citizens are sensitive to issues like role reversal in a family hierarchy.

1.      Discussing issues like managing finance, driving, or a necessary move to a hospital or home maybe painful but imperative for his well being. Before placing these questions to him think through the questions and chalk out the best possible way not to hurt his sentiments. Anticipate his resistance. Make him understand that under no possible circumstances his independence will be tampered with.

2.      When there is a possible change of living arrangement for any old person make sure to provide him with all those sentimental family heirlooms or furniture’s that he/she was attached with. With words, actions, and gestures make him feel that he is as independent as he was. Every knick-knack that matters to him should be retained.

3.      Help him understand why a place change has been called for firstly without sounding too desperate or jarring. Substantiate those with live examples so that you don’t sound abstract.

4.      Make them feel special and needed. Handle deftly the fact that their response and energy level has reduced over the ages. Try to make them recollect those times when you have needed their help time and again and come out blessed with that.

5.      Anticipate rejections and therefore meet objections calmly. Something like’’ I realize that so far you have had always your way through finance and you are pretty good at it” will set the tempo right and then you can approach him with your points.

6.      It is difficult for our dear old ones to set into changes. Though time consuming, the changes become more apparent once when arrangements are already made with and you have introduced the changes to them.