How To Know When Your Aging Parent Needs In Home Care
It is estimated that 22 million Americans are providing elder care for an aging parent or older relative. If you are among them, then you know how challenging the responsibility of assisted living services can be – physically, mentally and emotionally. Whether you’re providing personal care and companionship services seven days a week, or live out of town and try to manage their care long distance, there comes a time when you must ask yourself the inevitable question.
Is it time to consider in home care?
For Personal Care
As noted by Synergy HomeCare – widely considered the most trusted name in home care – after a lifetime of performing everyday personal care activities, the progressive inability to do so in older age can be devastating. If you cannot be there to help, your parent may need in home care if they are unable to:
- Bathe and shower on their own, wash their hair, brush their teeth, use the restroom or perform any other personal hygiene activities
- Dress themselves in the morning or undress themselves at night
- Move around on their own, whether that means getting out of bed, sitting in a chair or simply walking through the house
- Drive themselves to the doctor, the grocery store, a friend’s house or any number of other things they might want or need to do
For Keeping House
For parents who have spent their entire lives taking pride in keeping a clean house, it can be a real blow to their self-worth when their physical condition makes it impossible for them to do so. If you cannot be there to help, your parent may need in home care if they are unable to:
- Do light housekeeping, like dusting, vacuuming and taking out the trash
- Wash the dishes, clean the countertops or mop the floors
- Scrub showers, tubs or toilets
- Do laundry, ironing or change the linens
- Prepare meals and clean up afterward
For Companionship
Often, the greatest gift an aging parent can receive is companionship from someone who can not only provide conversation, but also a helping hand. If you cannot be there to help, your parent may need in home care if they are unable to:
- Arrange doctor appointments
- Remember when to take medications
- Plan and prepare healthy, balanced meals
- Keep bills organized
- Maintain a safe home environment
And remember. Even if you’re providing 24/7 care for your aging parent, that does not mean you can or should maintain that schedule definitely. Not only will it take a toll on the other relationships in your life, but it can also be detrimental to your health. In fact, your aging parent may need in home care in the form of respite care simply so you can take a well-deserved break.
For more information about providing quality in home care to your aging parent, including respite care for you, visit www.arizonacaregiver.com.
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Synergy HomeCare of Texas hopes the preceding article has been helpful to you. The reason for its inclusion on our website is to provide you with valuable information on improving quality of life – for yourself and those you love. In the future, we’ll continue to include pieces that inform and inspire you to make smart, life-affirming choices. Would you or someone you care about benefit from having an in home caregiver? Do you have an aging parent who needs personal care on a regular basis? Or a loved one who lives long distance and needs conversation and companionship? Are you recovering from an injury, surgery or pregnancy and need help with housekeeping responsibilities? For any in home care need, you may want to give Synergy HomeCare of Texas a try. Our in home caregivers are carefully selected and specially trained to provide for all of your assisted living needs. Thanks for visiting, and be sure to come back regularly for more informative, inspiring articles on how to ensure that you and your loved ones are getting the kind of help you need and deserve.