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Author: Home Helpers Home Care

Respite care is an opportunity for family caregivers to take time away from caregiving duties without leaving their aging family members alone. This offers tremendous peace of mind to both seniors and family caregivers, particularly if seniors need a lot of extra help or are anxious when family caregivers aren’t there with them. These strategies can help everyone involved feel more comfortable about this essential help.

Communicate

Communication is key in every aspect of caregiving. When family caregivers share with seniors what they need and how home care services can help, seniors are more likely to accept this type of assistance. Family caregivers can explain the benefits and take time to address questions and concerns. All of this helps to set expectations for seniors as they learn more about working with professional caregivers.

Involve Seniors

It’s so difficult for seniors to feel truly supported by something if they have no say in it whatsoever. Keeping seniors involved in decisions around elder care services helps them to see even more of the benefits that are available to them and feel more in control of what is going on. This helps to reduce uncertainty and anxiety that can arise around the idea of having help.

Try Short Visits First

In the beginning, it’s a good idea to go with shorter visits first. This helps to alleviate any anxiety that both family caregivers and seniors might feel. These shorter visits with respite care providers help seniors to get to know the professional caregiver and adjust to their presence. The respite care provider also gets to know the senior better and becomes more familiar with the senior’s routines.

Debrief After Respite Time

Another helpful step is for family caregivers to spend time with seniors after respite time and debrief. What worked? What went well? Knowing the answers to those questions helps family caregivers keep respite time successful and helpful for everyone involved.

Keep it Flexible

Every part of caregiving needs to remain as flexible as possible for best results. Seniors experience big changes quickly and so do family caregivers. Routines are helpful because they offer structure and support, but there are days when the normal routine isn’t what’s needed right then.

Stick with It

One mistake family caregivers run into is that they start to feel guilty or selfish for taking respite time. Those feelings might even feel big enough that family caregivers feel like it’s just not a good fit to keep taking respite time. The reality is that this is incredibly helpful for both seniors and family caregivers. Sticking with respite care and figuring out what adjustments make it work well for everyone involved is such a crucial part of helping seniors age in place successfully with family caregivers who aren’t burned out.

Preparing aging adults for respite care might be easier than family caregivers suspect at first. Trying some of these ideas and doing the planning helps quite a lot in making this a sustainable stress reliever for seniors and family caregivers alike.

If you or an aging loved one are considering respite care in Dyer, IN, please contact the caring staff at Home Helpers Home Care of NW Indiana today at (219) 244-2533.

Home Helpers Home Care of NW Indiana provides exceptional home and facility care for seniors in Highland, Munster, Crown Point, Schererville, Dyer, Saint John, Valparaiso, Cedar Lake, Griffith, Lowell and the surrounding areas.