If you’re carrying the bulk of the care responsibilities for your aging parents while your siblings distance themselves from helping, you’re not alone. In fact, 50 percent of all family caregivers are caring for an elderly loved one alone, according to a recent report from AARP.
Understanding why this happens so often – and finding a healthy solution to protect your own personal health, which can easily be compromised when providing care for aging parents independently – is vital. Our aging care specialists have the answers.
- Other family members may not recognize how much their help is needed. It may be that from the outside looking in, you have everything covered and running smoothly, and are not in need of their help.
What you can do: Communicate in an open and genuine conversation the level of stress you’re enduring. Encourage your brothers and sisters as well as other family members to stop by for a visit during a period of higher intensity care needs, like when you are planning and preparing dinner and then helping the person get ready for bed, and recruit their help to allow them to see for themselves how many tasks are involved.
- The family members are scared or feel uneasy about providing care. For someone who has never cared for a senior family member, it may be truly overwhelming.
What you can do: Invite them to “shadow” you for a day to help increase confidence with the specific activities that they are uncomfortable with. A bit of hands-on training tends to make a big difference.
- They are unsure about how to help. Even though it might seem like second nature to just jump in and meet the senior’s needs, that is not the case for everyone.
What you can do: Make a list of particular responsibilities that you could use help with, along with the times and days that help and support are necessary, and ask for volunteers.
How Can Home Care Help?
At Heaven at Home Senior Care, our care experts in Denton, Plano, and Frisco are always ready to work with you to meet the care needs of aging parents with professionalism, compassion, and reliability. Reach out to us online or at 940-380-0500 to find out more about our in-home care services.