---

Author: Ketan Shah

Families have so much to consider when it’s time to offer more help to the seniors they love. The changes that families face are big and impact both aging adults and family members. Home care services offer many different types of support, and can help families get used to caregiving. Some of these ideas can help make the process easier.

Talk About How Life Might Change

Talking about what is going on with care needs and other issues is a great start for families. It helps to get everything out in the open and allows everyone a chance to see how life might start to change over time. Spending some time talking through possible changes means that seniors and family caregivers might spot situations they need to address sooner rather than later, too.

Prioritize Home Safety

Home safety is always a priority for aging adults. Addressing issues like preventing falls, removing tripping hazards, and correcting any other possible safety problems reduces so many headaches later on. Seniors might need help assessing possible issues, which is where elder care providers can really be helpful. These professionals have experience spotting safety problems before they cause injuries and accidents.

Track Abilities and Tasks

It’s also a good idea to start tracking what seniors are still able to do, what tasks they’re finding more difficult, and what they’d like help managing. Home care services can help with transportation needs, light housekeeping tasks, meal preparation, personal care tasks, and so much more. If seniors are only having a little bit of trouble, senior care can be there for light support. As they need more help, services can ramp up how they help.

Support Autonomy

One of the hurdles that families tend to hit fairly quickly is that they aren’t sure how to support the seniors they love while also encouraging independence. Home care providers can help with this because their purpose isn’t to take over for aging adults. They offer encouragement, reminders, and assistance, but only in the ways that seniors truly need.

Practice Self-Care

Often when family caregivers dive into caregiving duties, they are helping with an emergent situation or solving a problem. Over time, however, family caregivers really need to practice self-care techniques. If they don’t, they run the risk of burning out. Home care providers can be there to offer coverage, ensuring seniors have the support they need and that family caregivers take the time they need for self-care tasks.

Leave Room for Grieving the Changes

Something that’s easy to overlook is that these changes can bring some grief with them. It’s difficult to realize that tasks and daily activities that used to be easy are now a lot more difficult. It’s also not easy to accept help with those tasks and activities, particularly when seniors were extremely independent in the past. Leaving some room to feel that grief and to talk through the feelings can help so much.

Home care services can offer families the hands-on support they need to work through the difficulty of changing life circumstances. The trick can be keeping everyone on the same page and talking through what’s happening.

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Palo Alto, CA, please contact the caring staff at Home Helpers today (408) 317-4969.