Sitting mom or dad in front of the television can have the same effect as plopping a two-year-old in front of the cartoon channel. A whole aspect of a child’s development and a senior’s health depends on socialization and interaction. Many caregivers feel they are doing the right thing by keeping mom and dad at home. They love their parents and want the best for them; however the long list of responsibilities and obligations of in-home care can be daunting. Making time for spouses, children, work, and household chores by providing your loved one (patient) with round-the-clock access to situation comedies, reality shows, sports, movies or 24/7 news channels can affect their physical health and mental wellbeing.
As our elderly age, lose the ability to drive, are uprooted from a home and community they love, suffer health issues, and become immobile or homebound, social isolationism develops. Hours of sitting alone in front of a television directly affects mood, emotions, behavior and thinking. TV programs generating anger, anxiety, unhappiness, or scaremongering affect how they interpret events in their own lives. Television’s negative sensationalism can trigger fear of their situation, of health problems, of incontinence, immobility and of becoming a burden. Long hours in front of a television set are as unhealthy as long hours alone staring into space. Older adolescents, teens and adults enjoy time away from the “rat race”- time to relax, gather thoughts, make plans, and solve problems. However there is a big difference in family members getting some time alone and seniors experiencing isolation.
Caregiving extends beyond providing basic needs. Caring for a mom or dad [in your home] who can no longer care for themselves is comparable to caring for a toddler or very young child. The exception being the patient’s psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs. Providing a patient with social ties, inclusion and interaction can preserve their mental health. Researchers have found elderly who engage with others have fewer health problems, fewer colds, and less incidents of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.
Just over 73% of in-home care is provided by family members. Bathing, dressing, toileting and diapering mom or dad can be emotionally challenging for the child and the parent. The challenge increases and emotions rise when bathing and toileting a parent diagnosed with dementia, depression, or a behavioral disorder. When you both are embarrassed, and frustration sets in flight happens. Turning on the television and leaving the room becomes easy.
Fulltime family caregivers are often forced to give up jobs, friends, and relationships. Like their patient, they can experience loneliness, solitude, and isolation. Parental, elder, and senior caregiver abuse is often linked to long periods of caregiver seclusion - breeding unhappiness, dysfunction and long hours of personal worries and anxieties for the patient and the caregiver. And once again, they’re plopped in front of a TV – often both the patient and the caregiver, in different rooms.
You can maintain a positive relationship, love, and respect for the parent you so bravely agreed to care for. Make inclusion, interaction, and engagement a priority. Just as you would for a toddler or young child, consciously limit time alone with the television. Whether you are caring for a loved one in their home or in yours, maintain dignity in your life and in theirs with a professional caregiver three or four hours a day, or a couple of times a week. Home Helpers Home Care South Tulsa can make a world of difference providing guidance, training, and support. We can take on those caregiver tasks which make both you and your patient uncomfortable. We are family when family can’t be there due to scheduling, or the need to just “get away”. Forcing yourself to do it all can be harmful and heartbreaking to the parent you love and create memories you’d both rather forget. Let us help. Call now.
