Needing help can sneak up on your senior, and it can feel like her need for assistance sneaks up on you, too. As your senior’s family caregiver, you might need to spend some time assessing her current needs and determining when it’s time for some additional help. These are just a few of the bigger issues that your elderly family member might be running into on a regular basis.
Household Tasks
Often household tasks become a lot more difficult for seniors over time. Your elderly family member might have taken care of her home for years, but suddenly find that it’s all too much. Tasks like cleaning, handling laundry, and even running errands related to household issues can be a lot more difficult now than they were even a few months ago.
Personal Care
Personal care tasks might be an area that gets embarrassing for your senior to talk about. These are tasks related to bathing, toileting, and even eating. These are tasks that your senior may have been handling for herself since she was a child, so it’s troubling to need help now. There can be a lot of emotional barriers to her asking for help with these tasks.
Transportation Help
If your elderly family member is having trouble driving, it’s a lot safer for her to leave that in someone else’s hands. Your senior doesn’t have to be trapped at home if she can’t drive. That’s a misconception that too many older adults believe is true, and it can keep them from making the right choices when it comes to stepping away from driving.
Social and Emotional Care
Your elderly family member’s social life might have taken a bit of a hit over time, too. Your senior may not be going out as much as she used to, and if friends and family members have moved away, she may find it difficult to find new people to spend time with on a regular basis. Having regular companionship can help her to feel a lot less lonely and isolated, which is important for her mental health.
Senior care providers can help your elderly family member with all of these areas of help and more. If you haven’t already, sit down with her and talk about the various areas in which she’s finding life to be more difficult and ask what she needs. It’s much easier to find a solution when you understand what she’s up against.
If you or an aging loved one is considering senior care in Anna Maria, FL, please contact the caring staff at Home Helpers of Bradenton. Call today: (941) 499-5946.
