Caring for aging family members is a massive task. As the situation changes, like with worsening health or other issues, the whole situation becomes even more complicated. Something else that complicates everything is that seniors find it difficult to navigate the emotional end of all of this. That can cause them to turn down help, even when they truly need it. Family caregivers can feel lost, but solutions like 24-hour home care can make all the difference.
Put a Plan Together
The biggest issue is often that families don’t have a full plan for caregiving and for their senior’s needs. That isn’t because they don’t want to help, but they may not fully understand what those needs are. Home care assistance helps families and even seniors to develop a fuller understanding of what seniors need and the types of help that are available.
Set Some Ground Rules for Everyone
Establishing ground rules and boundaries helps everyone involved to understand what’s okay and what isn’t. This can help seniors to feel more comfortable accepting help, both from family caregivers and from home care providers. Seniors often worry that accepting help means that they are admitting that they aren’t able to care for themselves at all. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Open the Lines of Communication
Sometimes what seniors need most is to feel as if they’re being heard and understood. That means that family caregivers may have to take a step back, listen first, and then offer help that is more accurately geared to meet actual needs. This is a lot easier with help from elder care providers, especially when seniors need assistance around the clock.
Try to Understand What’s Behind Some Actions
Difficult behaviors often are just a symptom of something else, like underlying anxiety, frustration, or even pain. It’s vital that family caregivers pause and take a moment to look deeper than the surface. Understanding what’s behind some of these actions can help everyone involved to be less reactive and to ensure that the right tools are in place.
Identify Potential Triggers for Behaviors
Very often some of the behaviors that family caregivers consider difficult are triggered by something specific. Understanding what those triggers are can help families to make it easier for seniors to avoid those difficulties altogether. This proactive process enables family caregivers to make changes to the senior’s environment and care plan to better care for the people they love.
Get Some Extra Help in Place
Seniors may be reluctant to accept help at first, but ultimately having access to 24-hour home care providers can be absolutely what everyone needs. First, it allows family caregivers to take a step back and get the respite time that they need. It can be easier for seniors to accept help from people who aren’t related to them, also.
Caring for seniors doesn’t mean that families have to tackle everything themselves. Leaning on 24-hour home care services and exploring all of the different possible causes for difficult behaviors helps everyone involved to approach the situation from a better perspective.
IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED ONE IS CONSIDERING HIRING 24-HOUR HOME CARE IN PALO ALTO, CA, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT HOME HELPERS TODAY. (408) 317-4969
