Top 4 Practical Tips for Elderly Caregivers

Elderly Caregivers

Effective elderly care giving only means the ability to provide for the elder’s needs and improving their lives without exactly ruining yours. Indeed, some people can become entirely dedicated into providing for the needs of the elders that they can tend to ignore their own set of needs.

Take note of the following tips to perform a better job as elderly caregivers.

Time and Attention

According to Parent giving’s checklist, one thing most elderly caregivers need to do is prioritize. If you have recently become a caregiver then the first step is to make sure the most pressing issues are in order. Typically those items are: (1) the living/housing situation; (2) locating important documents; and (3) assessing financial status and anticipated financial needs. Next, letting the elder know your role, time constraints, and limits, so you want to create reasonable limits as to when and how you provide service for them. It is important to set your limitations as this too will affect how they establish their demands. Find alternatives ways in responding to your loved ones demand that are outside of your abilities, limits and time allotments.

Practice how you can balance being able to attend to their essential needs and taking care of your personal businesses.

Coping With Unreasonable Demands

At some point while caring for your elderly parents, they can have unreasonable demands. Instead of beating yourself up trying to meet those demands, look at the more important needs that you can provide for them. The worse that could happen if you try to go out of your way trying to meet those demands is that they’d eventually demand some more to the extent that your inability to meet those demands disappoint both you and them.

Like with providing your time to serve and care for them, you also have to set limitations when it comes to the kind of service you will provide for them. It does not mean that you become nonchalant to their needs, but you need to recognize which ones are essential and those that are not.

You can engage them in various activities to spend the best of their remaining years together. There are various agency or non-profit groups dedicated to providing activities and services for your loved ones that you cannot do on your own. There are professional caregivers willing to assist with helping you to support your loved ones.

Dealing With Elder’s Complaints

In relation to creating your boundaries or limits, try to infuse empathy and sympathy to your loved ones. Immerse yourself in their position and understand why they are making such demands. When they make insulting or unfriendly remarks to you about what you did or failed to do for them, learn how to resolve that within yourself. Stay as positive as possible and redirect your attention to avoid being affected by such remarks. If you fail to overcome such negative thoughts, talk to them about it. Let them know how you felt about their reaction and your genuine concern to provide for their needs and demands. Talk to them straight would be the best way to cope with the difficulties and challenges of trying to meet their demands.

Dealing With Behavior Towards Elderly Caregivers

When people are aging, sometimes they tend to exhibit extreme behavior that could cause people with a lack of patience to erupt quickly. Some seniors may exhibit dementia, and EasyLiving.com discusses A Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia, which may result in unusual behavior. When you notice that an elder is showing behaviors that are unusual to them, then it is best to seek professional help. This will benefit both you and your loved ones as you become less frustrated and they get the immediate help they need.

When it comes to extreme behaviors, you can correct or prevent them from happening again by making it known to the elder. Never respond by using foul language yourself or raising your level of voice. If you cannot hold your temper, walk away and let your mind relax for a while until you are ready to settle the matter with a clear mind.

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Seniors and adults with disabilities (Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Intellectual Disability, ADHD, etc.) who live in the Antelope Valley area in CA, if you would like more information about the above post, request a complimentary consultation with us today at 661-522-5289, or click this link to contact us.

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Sources:

EasyLiving: http://www.easylivingfl.com/resources-faq/resources-home-care/

Parentgiving.com: http://www.parentgiving.com/elder-care/parentgiving-checklists/

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