Loyalty to aging parents sets example for our children

Loyalty is about our commitment to a person, place or a cause that we stick up for and stay with through thick and thin, good times and bad. When a person is loyal to us, we know we can depend on them to be there for us, that their promises will be kept. We have faith in them, and we trust them to help us when things are not going well.

All of us have people in our lives that we know will be there for us when we are sick, worried, upset or even scared. Unfortunately, we also have most likely experienced the loss of relationships due to a lack of loyalty, which leads us to believe they are not trustworthy. In any event, loyalty is what we find first and most of the time in the family though even that can change over time.

Loyalty inside the family is where most of us learn our lessons about loyalty and so helping our children appreciate that we are a team that must stick together to get our mission accomplished and supports each other even in the worst of times. I often think about this generation today that finds themselves between their parents and their children and how to balance those loyalties when they become time-consuming.

Caring for aging parents while raising our children is a problematic situation that needs balance along with understanding and empathy. What I do know is the way we talk about dealing with our parents as they get older and need our loyalty more than ever before in their life with and front of our children will be one of the ways they learn to view loyalty. I often think about dealing with elderly parents and the example it sets for our children. I believe that later in life, the way we viewed and carried out these responsibilities will be how our children treat us as we age.

We learn about loyalty and what it looks like much the same as we learn how our family views and values other virtues. Setting that example may determine how our children respond to difficult circumstances in the future.

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