When an Aging Relative Needs In-Home Care
If your elderly loved one needs in-home care but you aren’t sure if you can provide that for them, you might want to consider hiring a senior care provider. They are compassionate professionals that are experienced in caring for elderly adults with disabilities. When your elderly relative struggles to take care of themselves and their home, you can bring in a dedicated senior care provider to support them.
How Will I Know if my Aging Relative Really Needs In-Home Care?
Your top goal as a family caregiver is to make sure your loved one is healthy and safe, and that their physical and mental limitations aren’t going to diminish their quality of life. Unfortunately, because of things like injury, illness, chronic disease and the after-effects of old age, many aging adults simply cannot perform the day-to-day tasks they once did. They become angry, afraid, sad and sometimes rebellious as they struggle to maintain the quality of life they’ve already had.
The best way you can determine if your aging relative really needs in-home care is to observe and ask questions. You can see how clean the house is and monitor the quality and amount of food in the refrigerator. Your eyes and nose will alert you to how well your relative is keeping up with hygiene and grooming. Pay attention to things like late bills, unexplained bruises, too much clutter, pest infestations and even their social life, or lack thereof. If you are seeing too many red flags, it’s time to have a serious talk with them.
How Do Senior Care Providers Help?
The day-to-day tasks that your elderly loved one is ignoring or doing poorly can be done by a senior care provider. Depending on need, the senior care provider can be scheduled for a few days every week or all day, every day. They know how to lend a helping hand when elderly adults struggle with things like bathing, getting dressed and undressed, grooming, housekeeping, meal preparation and laundry. Fully trained and experienced senior care providers encourage elderly adults to do all they can on their own to help maintain dignity and independence.
The benefits of senior care providers even extend beyond direct caregiving tasks. As the family caregiver, you’ll also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your elderly relative is in good hands. Your loved one can still live in their home and within their community, which they usually prefer. Senior care providers can also help reduce the risk of things like slip and fall accidents and depression. You’ll know you’ve made the right decision to hire a senior care provider when you see the difference in your aging relative’s quality of life.
It’s never easy to have the conversation with an elderly relative that it may be time for in-home care. Always approach the topic with respect and sensitivity, because it can be very offensive to some aging adults. However, once they come around, you can start your search for the right senior care provider.