The holidays can be extremely challenging if you are a caretaker for your aging parents. You have to balance your family, job, and holiday obligations on top of meeting your parent's needs. If you are not careful, you will suffer from holiday burnout before the holidays even begin. Fortunately, with some planning on your part, there are a few ways to overcome the extra challenges the holidays bring. Here are a few tips to help you.
1. Involve Your Parents In Your Holiday Planning
Instead of making plans for your parents, involve them in your planning. Ask them what they want to do and where they want to go. Plan activities that they can participate in.
As people age, large gatherings can often become overwhelming. This is especially true when your parents are hard of hearing or suffering from dementia. For them, trying to listen to what is happening or remembering who all the people present are can quickly become frustrating.
Plan low-key, quiet events with a few family or friends. Pull back out the simple activities you enjoyed as a child. Bake a pan of cookies, watch Christmas movies, or just enjoy sitting around the fireplace.
2. Seek Help During The Holidays
If you are your parent's primary caretaker throughout the year, give yourself the gift of help during the holidays. If you do not have family or friends who will step to the plate and give you time off, consider contacting an agency that offers home care for seniors.
Bringing professional home care during the holidays will free you up to get all your shopping and cooking done while ensuring your parents are taken care of.
Home care agencies will work with you for a few hours a day or a few hours per week. They will help with almost any tasks your parents need. Some things a home health aid can take off your hands include:
Home care for your elderly parents may work out so well that you continue their services into the new year. Contact a home care for seniors service near you.
3. Practice Self-Care
When you become a sandwich generation member, you have to take care of your parents while taking care of your children. Unfortunately, this leaves little time for you to take care of yourself.
Self-care is crucial for you to take care of others. Schedule lunch with friends, take a long bubble bath, or enjoy a sunset with a glass of wine. Let someone else take care of your parents and children for at least a few hours so that you can enjoy a small part of the holidays.
Share29 November 2022
Having a home health care worker come to your home and assist you in the care of your loved one can make an impossible situation possible. One of the most important elements of having a care worker effectively assist your family is organization and communication. The care worker coming into your home should be documenting the care that is provided each and every day and you should be documenting the care you provide when the care worker isn't around. This blog will provide you with tips for staying organized and improving the communication between you, your health care worker and your loved one's doctors.