Growing older can sometimes feel like a big blow to your senior’s self-esteem and sense of independence. Some of the choices that you make as your elderly family member’s family caregiver can help her to feel as if her independence isn’t slowly draining away. These ideas can help you to build a system of support around your senior that offers her as much of her independence as possible while also offering help and tools when she needs them.
Keep Her Socially Engaged
Social engagement and connection is much more important than many aging adults realize. If your elderly family member isn’t able to be as social as she once was, she may start to withdraw from life in other ways. This has a serious impact on her mental health and eventually even on her physical health. Find ways to help her to be as social as she needs to be in order to feel positive and happy.
Prioritize Safety
Safety is crucial for your elderly family member, especially if she wants to remain independent. If she’s not safe in her environment, she’ll eventually experience an injury or illness that causes her to need hospitalization or some other type of living situation. Work with your elderly family member to find ways to keep her as safe as possible, including hiring elder care providers to offer her greater assistance.
Encourage Her to Stay Physically Active
When your aging family member starts to lose mobility, that’s going to hasten the loss of her independence, too. Check with her doctor to determine what types of exercise are safe for her and then outline a plan for keeping her as physically active as possible. Your elderly family member doesn’t have to take up intense workouts, either. Simply staying as active as she can does a lot to protect her mobility and her health.
Protect Her Ability to Choose
If you’re making a lot of decisions for your elderly family member, you might want to rethink that approach. Part of remaining independent means having as much choice as possible about her life and the factors that influence her life. Even with cognitive changes, your aging family member can still have a lot of choice in her life. The more she’s able to make those decisions, even small ones, the more independence she’ll experience.
Get Support Lined Up from Elder Care and Family Caregivers
There is a common misunderstanding about having help from elder care providers and even family members. That misunderstanding is that help automatically reduces independence, and that’s just not true. When your aging family member has help and support from you and from elder care providers, she’s better able to remain independent in the ways that truly are important for her well-being. Support is just that; additional support that helps your senior to live her life on her own terms.
When you prioritize your senior’s independence, that’s something that she’ll see and appreciate. It’s a decision that can have positive impacts for her for a long time.
The staff at Home Care Matters is available to talk with you and your family about all of your needs. Home Care Matters is a home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care in Gainesville, GA, and the surrounding areas.
Call (770) 965-4004 for more information.
We provide home care in Braselton, Buford, Dacula, Duluth, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Oakwood, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Barrow County, Forsyth County, Gwinnett County, Hall County, Jackson County, North Fulton County.
Valerie has the unique experience with home care as she has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum, as a caregiver and as needing care herself as a cancer survivor. Valerie says, “Taking care of someone you love is a physically, mentally and demanding labor of love.Taking care of my mom was the hardest thing I have ever done. It has given me an insight and perspective not many people understand unless you are doing it or have done it.I loved taking care of my mom.I love helping others take care of their love ones too.And now that I’ve been sick, it’s given me a whole new level of empathy and understanding for those who are sick and need help.”
Valerie’s schedule varies daily, but she loves visiting with our clients, families, caregivers, our network partners and being in the office.Says Valerie, “Every day is different, but I wake up excited about what we do, inspired by our team, clients and caregivers.I strive to be a resource to the community.I love my team and I love what we do every day. I like to think my mom would be proud.”
You can reach Valerie by email (Valerie@homecarematters.com) or in our office (770.965.4004).
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