Life after retirement..this is one of the most intimidating expectations in our lives. While we are young, i.e until 40, we may not think seriously about it, but as time passes, this thought will dominate our minds. Several questions start racing in our minds: How am I going to spend time after my retirement? Will I be the same active person after retirement? Should I have to depend on some other person? We will always think in terms of whether others will value us. In order to make the lives of the retired people easy, those who are living with them, viz., children, grandchildren etc.  should understand them fully and take efforts to make them feel happy. Lets see how:

Listen to their “little” stories

When your parents retire, they will have lots of stories to share with you. They will be nostalgic about several things and will expect you to listen to their achievements at work. Be empathetic towards them and make them feel that retirement is a part of life and they have to go through it gracefully. Be kind with them and don’t make them feel guilty.

Let them do as much work as they want

Once your parents retire, they don’t wish to stay idle. They will keep doing some work or the other. Sometimes they tell their insecurities, sometimes they don’t. It’s in our hands to identify these and make them lead a relaxed life.  When they engage in different activities including gardening, stitching etc, acknowledge their efforts.

Renovate the home

Well, this might sound like a strange idea, but this is a great way to eliminate the ageing fear of our parents. They also will understand that there is more to life than being immersed in the sorrow of retirement (which is actually not a sorrow). Let them paint their house the way they want, do interior designing, and do their best to give a new lease of life to the house.

Pamper them and remember that being emotional with them is not wrong

As your parents get old, they tend to behave like a child; they keep repeating the same things, want appreciation for even the smallest discovery of them, and take pride in cooking food and get your appreciation even though they have cooked for years. This happens more after retirement. In our role of children, we can pamper them with kindness and don’t make ageing a thing of annoy. Besides, you can always be emotional with them, which is a great quality.

If they want to work after retirement too, don’t stop them

This is one of the difficult decisions you have to make when your parents want to work after retirement. You would have good intentions in not making them stress too much, but they will have a different opinion. They can always work on some online jobs to keep themselves occupied. Now there are wide options available for retired people too, and they can work from their home too. However, ensure that they don’t strain themselves too much.

Let them socialize more

After retirement, your parents won’t feel like sitting at home. They will feel bored. Let them meet different people, share their genuine thoughts with like-minded people, and also keep their intellectual quotient high. This will also have a positive effect on their morale.

Nothing is as gladdening as getting the full support of children for a retired parent. Let us take every effort to observe their milestones and make them feel worthy of living a valuable life.