In an ideal world, we could manage to perfectly compartmentalize our caregiving duties, staying with a routine that met the requirements of our elderly parents, while enabling enough time required to take care of our myriad of other responsibilities. But needless to say, life does not follow our desired script, and contradicting needs are frequent when caring for an older adult. Many senior loved ones balk at the need for help, while others may come to rely too heavily on an adult child, leading to unfulfilled expectations and ultimately aggravation for both parties.
Independence-4-Seniors Home Care’s Hinsdale home care experts provide the following recommendations to help clarify expectations and communicate successfully:
- Emphasize empathy. As opposed to pulling away from a senior loved one whose expectations seem unreasonable, stop and empathize. Think through the issues your senior loved one is facing, and how it may feel to be in his or her shoes. Then voice your sincere concern and desire to help.
- Enable each other to be heard. Start a conversation with your senior loved one, encouraging him or her to convey how it feels to be in need of care, and what type of care is needed. Establish what the senior’s objectives are, and then share your own personal expectations and limitations in having the capacity to fully meet his or her needs.
- Compromise to get to a solution. Reaching a resolution that works well for both of you might be much less difficult than you think. For instance, in the event the senior expects assistance with transportation according to a specific schedule several times each week, perhaps you can provide that assistance one day, while recruiting the help of others to cover additional days. This provides for improved socialization for the senior in addition to the healthy life balance you need.
Independence-4-Seniors Home Care is available to partner with family caregivers with highly trained, carefully matched care professionals who are passionate about making life the very best it can be for seniors. Working with the Hinsdale home care team at Independence-4-Seniors Home Care enables adult children to make certain their elderly parents are well cared for at all times, whether by filling in with respite care where needed, through around-the-clock, live-in care, or any number of solutions in between. Just some of the countless ways we are able to help include:
• Safe, accompanied transportation
• Running errands
• Planning and preparing nourishing meals
• Keeping the home clean and neat
• Offering friendly companionship to brighten each day
• Creative and highly specialized care for those with dementia
• And much more
Call us at (630) 323-4665 to share the challenges you’re facing, and to request a free in-home consultation to learn how we can help.