Tips for Preparing to Care for Your Aging Parents
As the holidays approach, you are likely interacting more heavily with your aging parents and family members. Whether you are able to spend time together safely or are relying on virtual video calls, you may start to notice that they need additional help around the house or with daily tasks. Senior Home Companions is here to help you prepare to care for your aging parents with a few helpful tips.
Research In-Home vs. Residential Care
Does your aging parent wish to remain independent in their home? Many older adults are opting to remain safe and sound at home for as long as possible, especially with the current COVID-19 pandemic. At Senior Home Companions, our caregivers can provide safe and convenient in-home care and companionship ranging from a few hours to 24 hours a day, including meal preparation, light housekeeping, bathroom assistance, medication reminders and more.
If your aging parent needs additional medical attention from a care facility, assisted living community or hospice, our SHC caregivers are still here to help. We can ensure that clients in long-term care stay engaged with daily life by providing companionship, help with therapies and seeing to any other non-medical needs. During your complimentary assessment from SHC, our caregiving experts can help determine what type of care is best for your family’s needs.
Discuss Options with Your Aging Parents
As you start to have concerns about your parents’ health and safety, make sure to discuss them together. This important talk is one that will likely take place over a long series of discussions, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t address it all at one time.
You’ll want to make sure that you truly listen to their needs, and keep an open mind about the way that they want to move forward. For instance, you could start with a few hours a week to get them used to a caregiver in their home, and slowly build up to more visits if you feel it is necessary. We always match our caregivers carefully with each client based on personality types and hobbies to ensure personalized and consistent care.
Family Matters Counseling
If you find that your aging loved one is defensive about needing care, Family Matters Counseling can help. Our trained staff will come alongside your family to discuss the tough topics that you will face as a parent ages. Even if your aging parent is on board with finding care, you may find benefit from Family Matters Counseling to address important legal or financial issues in order to make fruitful plans for the future.
Finding Family and Caregiver Support
As you prepare for the care of your aging parent or loved one, make sure that you find support for yourself too. Conducting all of the research, planning and caregiving alone and on top of your own job and family life is a quick way to feel burnt out. In fact, AgingInPlace reports that half of adult caregivers find it moderately or very difficult to balance work and caregiving.
Find ways to delegate tasks to siblings or other family members, like appointment transportation or dropping off prepared meals. And if you find yourself in need of planned, emergency or temporary respite care, our SHC caregivers can provide your loved one with care so that you can go to an afternoon appointment or even take a multi-day break.
If you are ready to start in-home care for your aging parent, contact your local Senior Home Companions office today to schedule a complimentary assessment. We look forward to serving you and your family!