Anyone's parents trying harder as you/they get older?

Actually, yes.

When me and my ex broke up recently, i had to move in with my parents for a bit. That's when I came across Attachment Theory.

I openly asked my mum, who i have always had a tense relationship with (though this improved when i moved overseas at 21) whether she thought she may have been Avoidant with me when i was a small child, due to her own childhood / parental issues. She said she thought maybe she had. We have a good relationship now and she's very self-aware, she also teaches social work of which some basic psych is part, so i think she's more open to psychology than she would have been previously.

Anyway, while i was staying with them I was so distraught from the break-up, and i found myself often just wanting my mum to come and comfort me. Not my dad, who I've always been closer to. One day i was lying on her bed, and she came in and i asked her to lie next to me. She did, and she stroked my head while i lay there. It was honestly one of the most healing moments I've ever had, and something so unexpected from my mum - I can't remember her ever being very huggy or loving like that when i was a child. In this break-up, unlike any of my others or indeed any of my relationships in general, i have shared my feelings with my mum and she has been more open and emotional with her responses that I would usually expect. She still can be quite harsh at times, but I have felt her soften, as I have been more vulnerable with her.

I've taken the Attachment test twice, and it tracks movement. And what's interesting is that when i first took it, my relationship with my mother sat at DA, and now it seems to almost have moved towards Secure. Very situation dependent, obviously, but I definitely think part of my healing is going to be helped by these interactions I've had with my mother. I'm hoping it deepens our relationship, though i suspect it won't be a magic fix, just some movement towards.

So yes, I think if we are able, that repairing and deepening relationships with our parents should be encouraged. However, i imagine it's not always possible because as people age, their issues are so woven into who they are.