Elderly Loved One and Family Caregiver: Learn More About This Type of Relationship Today
As a family caregiver to your elderly loved one, there may be some communication and relationship issues that need to be dealt with. Generally, these are caused by someone not talking to the other person or from stepping on boundaries. Either way, it is possible to fix relationship issues with your elderly loved one and yourself. If you try the things noted below and you are still having issues, you may want to talk to your elderly loved one about having 24-hour home care providers take over their care.
Letting Them Have a Say
One of the first tips, and most important ones, is to let your elderly loved one have a say. There are many times when family caregivers are in such a hurry that they step over their elderly loved one’s preferences to do things their way. If you catch yourself doing this, it may be a good idea to stop and take a step back. Think about how you can better listen to what your elderly loved one wants and let them have a say in decision-making. Just by doing this, things are likely to go smoother between you and your elderly loved one. If you find it too difficult to do this, it might be best to have home care providers help out, too.
Respect is Key
Another tip to consider when you are caring for your elderly loved one is whether you are respecting your elderly loved one and whether they are doing the same with you. Disrespect is more of a problem than you might think, but generally it isn’t on purpose. Take some time to think about how you usually talk to, listen to, and interact with your elderly loved one. If you find that you are talking over them, interrupting when they are speaking to you, or not listening to what they want, this could be seen as disrespect to them. When they feel this way, it could cause them to be irritated with you. The cycle could continue with them disrespecting you, as well. Hopefully, by recognizing this cycle, you can both improve your communication with one another.
Preferences are Important
Last, but not least, you and your elderly loved one need to listen to each other’s preferences. Even though you are taking care of your elderly loved one in their home, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some say in how things happen. However, you should also take into consideration what your elderly loved one wants. For example, if you are at the grocery store to buy their groceries, you shouldn’t get whatever you want to buy. You shouldn’t have to wait around for them to decide either. Together, maybe you could come up with a grocery list of things they need and want. If that doesn’t work or is too much, maybe you could have 24-hour home care providers sit with them to make the list.
Now that you have some tips on how to improve the communication and overall relationship with your elderly loved one, hopefully, things will go better between the two of you. Remember, if you need additional help, don’t be afraid to contact home care providers for assistance.
If you or an aging loved one are considering 24-Hour Home Care in Indian Trail, NC, please call the professional staff at Caring at Heart today at (704) 379-7510. Serving Charlotte, Statesville, Ballantyne, Mooresville, Huntersville, Matthews, Concord, Gastonia, Pineville and Indian Trail
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK396398/
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