Being the family caregiver for an aging parent or loved one can be very rewarding. It can, however, also be very stressful on both the caregiver and the senior in their care.
There are many reasons why caring for your aging parent or loved one on your own can be stressful, and one of these reasons is that your parent is probably more used to taking care of you than the other way around!
Family caregiving in the home can sometimes work great, but it can also sometimes cause rifts among the family. The caregiver can get stressed about caregiving and take it out on their aging loved one or the rest of them members of the family, or the aging loved one can get stressed because they don’t feel like they are being treated the way they want to be treated.
One way to resolve this type of stress problem is to hire home care. Home care agencies provide professional help in the home to make things easier for seniors and the people who love them. Here are just a few ways that home care can reduce stress.
- More free time for the family caregiver – In many cases, family caregivers don’t feel like they have a life outside of caring for their aging loved one. Or, sometimes, they have another job that they have to work around, leaving them with no free time. In either case, hiring a home care aide can free up some free time for the family caregiver, which will reduce their stress immensely.
- Assistance with daily tasks – Home care professionals are trained to help seniors with things such as getting dressed, bathing, and going to the bathroom. Sometimes, your parent might not want their child to help them with these things because it is embarrassing to them. But, many feel differently if it is done by a professional, who is there for the specific purpose of helping them with these daily tasks.
- Diet and nutrition – If your life is hectic, you might not always have time to cook a special meal for your senior with all of the nutrients that their aging bodies require. A home care provider, though, can cook them their own meals if necessary, and help them to eat, thus ensuring that they have all of the vitamins and nutrients they need.
- Exercise – Although home care professionals are not usually medically certified, they can help your senior to keep their bodies in good shape by assisting them with exercise.
- Devoted specifically to the senior’s needs – While you have an entire household to take care of, a home care provider only has one task: to tend to the needs of your aging loved one. There is no way that the senior can feel neglected if they have help, and there is no way the rest of your family can feel neglected if you now have more time to spend with them.
A home care provider can really help to bring the family together, allowing you to focus on spending time doing fun things with your loved one and the rest of the family without all of the stress of doing everything on your own.
For home care in Cherry Hill, NJ, and the surrounding areas, call and talk to us at Home to Stay Healthcare Solutions (856) 321-1500.