Shutting your senior out of conversations and choices about senior home care is a bad idea for a lot of different reasons. Because this choice is about helping her and making sure that she’s got her needs covered, you also need to make sure that she continues to have a say in what happens. Here are some of the big benefits of prioritizing your senior’s voice.
She Feels More in Control of Her Life
No one likes to feel as if their life is out of their control. That goes double for your aging family member, especially if she’s experiencing health issues that are worsening rapidly. Keeping her involved in the decision-making process means that your elderly family member continues to feel empowered and is going to be able to maintain her independence more readily.
Outcomes Tend to Be Better for Your Senior
One huge factor in making sure your senior has the help that she needs is that you want her care outcomes to be as positive as possible. You get to that point by gaining your senior’s cooperation and ensuring that she’s happy with the care she’s receiving. If she’s not helping with the decisions, she’s not as likely to feel happy about that care and she’s going to be more resistant to everything involved.
You and Your Senior Communicate Better
Communication is a huge factor in your relationship with your elderly family member as her family caregiver. If you’re experiencing communication breakdowns with each other, everything is going to feel more difficult. By keeping her in the loop when it comes to senior home care decisions, you and your senior are preserving the lines of communication between each other.
Stress Is Reduced for Everyone Involved
It isn’t easy for your elderly family member to experience the changes she’s going through. It’s also not easy for you to care for someone that you love and to see her life changing so rapidly. There’s a lot of stress involved in caregiving, and if there are ways for you to reduce that stress, it’s vital to take advantage of them. Hiring senior home care is one way to reduce stress, and another is to reassure your senior by keeping her involved.
She’s More Likely to Accept Help
Ultimately, all of these decisions are about helping your elderly family member as much as possible. If she’s not open to that help or doesn’t want it, that’s not going to make the changes anyone wants to see. When you’re ensuring that she has a voice in all of these choices, she is going to be much more involved in making the whole thing work and that’s what you all want for your senior.
It’s never easy to experience big changes, so it’s understandable if your aging family member isn’t open to the idea of elder care assistance at first. Keep her involved and make sure that she knows she has choices, and that is likely to have a big impact on how the process feels for her.
IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED ONE IS CONSIDERING HIRING SENIOR HOME CARE IN PALO ALTO, CA, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT HOME HELPERS TODAY. (408) 317-4969
