Easing into Care Giving
There is one axiom that if your parents don’t pass away young in life, you are going to watch them age. Now for the most part, this is a natural and nice part of life because mom and dad can slowly become grandma and grandpa which are nice roles for them after working so hard to raise you.
But a corollary to that axiom is that if mom and dad are going to age, at some point you are going to begin helping them with the daily affairs of life. And that occasional helping will escalate as their needs grow strong until you will become a full-fledged caregiver for an elderly person.
For many, the time when you suddenly become a caregiver is just that – sudden. It happens often after the death of a parent and the widowed parent suddenly becomes needy because of the loss they are experiencing. For married couples who have been together for decades, that loss is equivalent to the loss of a limb and far more devastating so that may be the time when you suddenly go from having few concerns for your aging parent to having many.
It might be strange to look at it this way, but the more you can ease into care giving, the more time you have to get used to it, for your elderly parent or parents to get used and for your family, forefends and coworkers to get used to it. And if you can step in and make some minor changes to the environment of your aging parent, you may be able to delay the time when they become very dependent on you.
If your parent or parents are still living in their own home, there are things you can do to make their living space more accessible and safe including…
Create a lifestyle that is all on one level. Stairs can become a hazard for an elderly person. So early in your plans to adapt their living space, move them into a ground floor bedroom and put all significant rooms, including the kitchen, the pantry, the laundry room and the living room are on the same level.
Take some of the work out of daily chores. Most local grocery stores will deliver food to the elderly so you can make those arrangements for your aging parent. You can also find services that work by the hour that come in and clean the house, do simple repairs and chores and take care of the business of home ownership for your parents.
You can make arrangements with home health care professionals to drop by for an hour or two a week just to make sure your parents medications are still safe to use, that all prescriptions have been filled and that your parent understands their medications and when and how to take them.
Reorganize the kitchen so things your parent will use every day are on an eye level shelf and are easy to get to and to put away after washing. Make sure the toaster oven, microwave and other important appliances are also easy to get to and that your parent is comfortable with these units if the models that may have come with the assisted living center are not familiar to them.
Go through the house and make it easy for your parent to use. You can put in those walking and grab bars along the halls and in the bathtub and other places where your mom or dad might need the additional support. You can check the lights so there are plenty of visibility for what your parents have to do.
To really take the preparation of your parent’s living space for their ease of use and safety, look at pulling emergency pull ropes in every room. These units are used extensively in assisted care units and they make it possible for your parent to pull that cord if she is in trouble and set off an alarm or call to you or to emergency care, should there be a sudden medical need.
By working to make your parent’s work area easy to use and safe, you can do a lot to put off the time when your mom or dad may have to move to a retirement village or nursing home. And you keep them independent which allows you to slowly ease into care giving which is much easier on everybody.
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The Caregiver’s Greatest Enemy Being a caregiver for your aging mom or dad could be compared to a battle. This ...
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Managing Your Senior Citizen’s Medications “Old people need a lot of pills.” That was an observation the grandson of my ...
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Where Should Grandma Live? Anyone who is charged with the task of caring for an aging parent, particularly the only ...
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read more
Making a Difference Together There is something very self absorbed about the caregiver to senior citizen relationship. By that we ...
read more
Quality of Life for your Senior Citizen When you were growing up, your parents were your care givers. They made ...
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Is Mom a Sucker? Sometimes a caregiver is a combination of maid, doctor, spiritual advisor and amateur detective. It’s no ...
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Keeping it at Arm’s Length Sometimes when you have a very consuming problem, it can so take over your life ...
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Listening to Your Parents even Now Have you ever had that aggravation that you go over to your aging parents ...
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The Greatest Loss of Them All Perhaps the hardest task you will ever be faced with is to help one ...
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Taking Care of Yourself is Part of the Job The job of becoming the primary caregiver for your aging parent ...
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The Greatest Loss of Them All Perhaps the hardest task you will ever be faced with is to help one ...
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Is Mom a Sucker? Sometimes a caregiver is a combination of maid, doctor, spiritual advisor and amateur detective. It’s no ...
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Listening to Your Parents even Now Have you ever had that aggravation that you go over to your aging parents ...
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Does Grandpa Like Himself? Few of us think about our own self esteem. But how we feel about ourselves, our ...
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Giving Thanks for Being a Caregiver Much of the adjustment that goes into being a caregiver for your aging parent ...
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A Place to Go When you first started working with your elderly mom or dad in helping them settle into ...
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Going to a Better Place There are some momentous events in the life of a senior citizen. And few can ...
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Caring for the Caregiver The relationship between an elderly person and his or her caregiver is complex and intense sometimes. ...
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When the End is near Providing care for your adult parent during their retirement years can be a demanding job. ...
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A Place to Go When you first started working with your elderly mom or dad in helping them settle into ...
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Guilt Helps Nobody If the job of being a caregiver only involved giving help to your aging parent such as ...
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A Stressful Job It’s an understatement that being a caregiver for an elderly loved one is stressful. And in general, ...
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Senior Citizens Bill of Rights Sometimes when you and your elderly parent are partnering for their care, it seems like ...
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Going to a Better Place There are some momentous events in the life of a senior citizen. And few can ...
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The Caregiver’s Emotions There is a balance between the jobs of a caregiver and the feelings of a caregiver. If ...
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Disclaimer
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this website, notwithstanding the fact that he does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
This site is a common sense guide to Easing into Care Giving. In practical advice websites, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made. Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their individual circumstances to act accordingly.
This site is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field.
Any perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.
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The Caregiver’s Emotions
When the End is near
The Caregiver’s Greatest Enemy
Where Should Grandma Live?
That Thing We Don’t Talk About
That Thing We Don’t Talk About
When is it Time to Step in?
Making a Difference Together
Caring for the Caregiver
Caregivers and the Work Place
Caregivers and the Work Place
When is it Time to Step in?
A Stressful Job
Senior Citizens Bill of Rights
Quality of Life for your Senior Citizen
Easing into Care Giving
Taking Care of Yourself is Part of the Job
Does Grandpa Like Himself?
Managing Your Senior Citizen’s Medications
Giving Thanks for Being a Caregiver
Where Should Grandma Live?
Easing into Care Giving
Making a Difference Together
Quality of Life for your Senior Citizen
Is Mom a Sucker?
Keeping it at Arm’s Length
Listening to Your Parents even Now
The Greatest Loss of Them All
Taking Care of Yourself is Part of the Job
The Greatest Loss of Them All
Is Mom a Sucker?
Listening to Your Parents even Now
Does Grandpa Like Himself?
Giving Thanks for Being a Caregiver
A Place to Go
Going to a Better Place
Caring for the Caregiver
When the End is near
A Place to Go
We Are the Sandwich Generation
We Are the Sandwich Generation
Keeping it at Arm’s Length
Managing Your Senior Citizen’s Medications
Guilt Helps Nobody
The Caregiver’s Greatest Enemy
Guilt Helps Nobody
A Stressful Job
Senior Citizens Bill of Rights
Going to a Better Place
The Caregiver’s Emotions
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