Five Tips for Taking Care of a Senior with Other Family Members
If you’re lucky enough to have other family members who can and who are willing to help out with your elderly family member’s care, that’s definitely good news. But it’s also a balancing act in a lot of ways.
Elderly Care in Montgomery OH: Taking Care of a Senior
Don’t Expect Other Family Members to Be Someone They’re Not
The hope you might have is that caregiving will bring out the best in every family member. For some that might be the case, but others just don’t have the energy and the bandwidth to pick up any slack in terms of caregiving. If your expectations are bigger, then you’re likely to feel more disappointment than you want to experience.
Get Clear about the Help You Need
When you’re not absolutely certain about the type or the amount of help that you need, it’s way more difficult to get the help that you’re trying to ask for from family members. From some family members, you might know that you can expect them to be able to make an extra meal or two a week and bring them to your elderly family member. If that’s the kind of help you need, then that’s what you need to specifically ask for when you talk to that family member.
Set up a System
Make a list of who can do what and how often they might be able to do it. From there, you can start to map out a schedule that works for your needs and your senior’s needs. Getting this overall view can help you to set up your own system and see where there might be gaps in your needs list.
Fill in Gaps with Home Care Providers
When you do find those gaps, don’t try to force square pegs, in the form of other family members who aren’t able to do more, into those round holes. Home care providers are the perfect response to a shortage in other assistance options. They can offer assistance with a variety of tasks and on a time table that works for you and your aging family member.
Avoid Getting into Power Struggles over Simple Issues
One problem that is easy to run into involves getting into power struggles with family members about caregiving issues. If you can go ahead and make the decision now that you’re not going to get caught up in that kind of stuff, it’s a lot easier to start letting inconsequential stuff to roll off your back.
Cooperation is such a key part of having everyone involved in your senior family member’s care. As the primary caregiver, you’ll likely find yourself in the middle more often than not. That’s why it’s so important to have other backups besides family members.
If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring Elderly Care in Montgomery, OH, please contact the caring staff at Queen City Elder Care today. Serving Cincinnati and Surrounding Communities. Call Us Today (513) 510-4410.
Michele Vollmer is a visionary leader who is perpetually searching for ways to improve, so to remain at the leading edge of the home care industry.She has served in the healthcare industry since 1989, including pharmaceutical and home health sales, as well as hospice sales and sales management.
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