If you find yourself in charge of most of the care for aging parents while your siblings distance themselves from assisting, you are not alone. In fact, half of all family caregivers are caring for an elderly loved one alone, according to a recently available report from AARP.
Understanding why this situation is so prevalent – and discovering what can you do to protect your own personal health, which can quickly be affected by caring for a senior loved one without any help – is critical. Our aging care experts have the answers.
- Family members do not recognize there is a need for assistance. It may be that from the outside looking in, you have everything under control and running smoothly, and are not in need of their assistance.
What you can do: Have an honest, open conversation, describing the pressure you are under. Ask your siblings as well as other family members to stop by for a visit during a time of higher intensity care needs, like when you are making dinner and then helping your parent prepare for bed, and enlist their help so they are able to see firsthand how many tasks are involved.
- They are afraid or uncomfortable. For a person who has never provided care for an older family member, it can be truly overwhelming.
What you can do: Encourage them to shadow you for a day to help them gain confidence with the specific responsibilities that they are not comfortable with. A small amount of hands-on training tends to make a big difference.
- They do not know what to do to help. Although it might seem intuitive to simply jump in and meet your parent’s needs, that is not the case for everyone.
What you can do: Create a list of particular responsibilities that you could use assistance with, together with the times and days that help and support are necessary, and ask for volunteers.
How Can Home Care Help?
At Compassionate Care Home Health Services, our experienced caregivers in Cadillac, Saginaw, Alpena and surrounding areas are always here to work with you to meet the care needs of an older loved one with expertise, compassion, and reliability. Contact us online or give us a call at 877.308.1212 to learn more about our in-home care services and how we can help care for aging parents.