Caring for Elderly Parents: What You Need to Know
It’s never easy when the time comes to swap roles with your parents or elderly family members and become the caregiver. On the plus side, there is an abundance of resources and organizations available to make caring for elderly parents as seamless and comfortable as possible for both you and your loved ones.
Is It the Right Time?
The first thing you may ask yourself is: How will you know when it is time to seek additional care for your parents? At what point do they need someone to help them get by on an average day? The activities of daily living can be summarized in the following:
- Ability to feed oneself
- Mobility
- Dressing oneself
- Personal hygiene (including showering or bathing, grooming, etc.)
- Toilet hygiene
If your parents are no longer able to carry out these daily activities on their own, it is time to look into what options are available to make sure they are as comfortable and happy as possible.
How Do I Know What Is the Best Elderly Home Care Option for Us?
When your parents are no longer able to independently care for themselves on a daily basis, the first thing to consider is what solution will best help them maintain their dignity, as well as their physical and emotional well-being.
An increasing number of elderly are choosing to remain as independent as possible and receive care in their own home. There are many services available who can do in-home care for your loved ones. However, others may do better with 24-hour care and attention in a nursing home, depending on their age and the state of their health. In between these two choices, there is a spectrum of elderly home care options. The decision about which is the best option to pursue will, of course, depend on preference, but should be based equally on necessity.
Before you decide on a course of action, there are a number of factors you’ll need to take into account. Not the least of which is finding out from your elderly parents which option they will be most comfortable with.
Each option comes with different levels of medical attention and assistance with the activities of daily living. In addition to housing, there is the matter of who you want and need caring for your loved ones. It is usually preferable to have family and friends around to help with daily living activities, which can be best carried out in the comfort of their own home. There are also a number of professional services available to cater to whatever their needs may be.
How to Manage Finances
We highly recommend looking at your options for financial support. If this is all starting to sound a bit daunting in terms of the expenses, check to see if your parent is eligible for any government programs which can lighten the load for them financially.
Discretion
One thing to be wary of is any services being marketed to you simply for promotional reasons. We live in a world of public relations and marketing. Unfortunately, you will run into the occasional sales push which is based more on the provider’s interests, rather than the well-being of your loved one. This is not always the case but is still something to be alert for.
Just as our parents once cared for us and ensured we were happy, safe and comfortable, it is now our turn in their old age to do the same for them. Whatever your daily involvement in their lives, we all take on some form of the caregiver function for our parents once they have aged.
This is not a burden anyone should have to bear alone. A Better Solution In Home Care is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to answer your questions concerning your loved one’s care options. Call us today to learn more about our personalized needs assessments and care planning.
