Caring for elderly parents can be a challenging task for many adults as they are busy with their tasks or raising children, but it may be even harder if you’re an only kid trying to take care of your elderly parents. We at RedCrier Training Solutions understand these issues and would love to share a few tips which can help make the process simpler.
Taking Care of Finances
The very first thing to do if it comes to taking care of older parents is to look after their financing early on. Many family practitioners make the mistake of not taking good care of their parent’s possessions and finances while their parents are wholesome, and then it gets very hard down the line if something occurs. If your parents have been ill in any manner, you need to make sure that all of their fiscal problems are cared for and that you have access to their own account and any safe deposit boxes that they may have. This is also a good tip if they wind up hospitalized and you cannot manage their treatment on your own. The fiscal burden of taking care of older parents as an only child can often be the toughest thing to deal with because you do not have any siblings to help split the costs with you. If you want to take over paying your parent’s bills, be sure to keep detailed records so that they’ll know that everything is taken care of. If your furry friend suffers from Alzheimer’s or dementia, you may wish to think about getting power of attorney before their disease progresses too much so that you can be responsible for decision making when they aren’t capable of making decisions by themselves anymore.
Getting More Help
If you’re married and your partner has a great relationship with your parents, they can frequently be a huge help in sharing the activities with you. If you are single or your spouse isn’t interested in helping out, then you can consider choosing a private home care company to send an expert caregiver to come in occasionally and help out. Having a spouse or a personal caregiver that will assist you can make a huge difference when it comes to taking good care of your parents because it will keep you from getting burned out so that you won’t start to resent your furry friend.
Many seniors frequently feel uneasy having their children help them with personal hygiene tasks like bathing or using the restroom, in case your parents needs help in this area you might want to consider hiring personal care for them even if you think you can handle it on your own since your primary concern must be to ensure that your parents are comfy. At redcrier.com we provide the best possible training care for our clients, and extend an assortment of personal care assistance options which have bathing and toilet aid. Having a professional caregiver visit your parents sometimes will permit them to stay in their own home or your house (if they live with you) more and not have to go to a nursing home. If they need constant medical care you might still eventually need to set them in a nursing home, but most seniors want to remain from a nursing home for as long as they can.
If you begin to feel overwhelmed, you can look into joining a support group. Joining a support group with other caretakers will let you have some time to converse with other men and women who are experiencing some of the same things which you are experiencing so which you are able to share ideas and concerns. Sometimes it’s also beneficial to just be able to escape the house for some time and vent to someone so that you don’t keep everything bottled up inside and lash out. Support groups can often be better than just talking to a spouse constantly about your parents since you do not want to place a strain on your marriage by only sharing negative emotions or always seeming angry.
As a single child, it is important to make certain that you also care for yourself. Not having any siblings to help out means that you’ll be the sole one for your own parents to rely on so you need to make certain that you are caring for yourself while you’re taking care of them. This can consist of eating healthy, exercising, and taking the time to do things for yourself that you enjoy. Not taking time to do such things can make you feel drained and exhausted all of the time and after that you are going to have a much harder time taking care of your parents. If taking care of your parents at home gets too much of a strain on you or your health, hire private care to help your parents or consider placing them in a nursing home. Many children feel guilty putting their elderly parents in a nursing home, however if your parents want more maintenance than you can pay or provide for, this is often the best option for both of you.
Following these tips should make caring for older parents a lot easier and should help keep you from getting overwhelmed with the task.