Looking After Elderly Parents When You Have a Family: A Guide

 

Looking after your elderly parents can be incredibly stressful, especially when you are trying to balance this with looking after the younger generation of your family or when you are trying to start a new family of your own. So, to make sure that you can care for your elderly parents while juggling the rest of your responsibilities, read on for some top tips.

1.   Look at Assisted Living Communities

Although you might want to be in charge of your parent’s care, sometimes the best option to give them a full life for years to come is to look at assisted living communities in your area. Assisted living communities can help your elderly parents get the medical and pastoral care that they need, as well as company from their peers, even if you do not always have the time to constantly devote your attention to them. For example, residents at Brightview Bel Air assisted living say that one of the biggest factors in choosing an assisted living community is the overall community feel and connection to other residents, and so many elderly people thrive in these settings.

2.   Create a Care Timetable

If you do want your elderly relatives to age at home, though, you should create a care timetable for them. This can help you to split the care of your elderly loved ones with other family members to make sure that they always get the attention that they need. Not only can this take the pressure away from you and your family, but it can prevent arguments within your extended family over who will lead the care of your senior parents. If you are unable to look after your relatives yourself, then it would be a good idea to hire a top home care agency in your area, so you know that they are being taken care of properly by professionals.

3.   Make Sure You Are Easy to Contact

When you have a family, it is not possible to be there for your elderly parents all the time. However, to ensure that your loved ones are safe at all times, you should make sure that you are easy to contact when you are not with them. Luckily, there are many health aides that can connect your elderly parents to you and allow them to alert you or a medical professional if something goes wrong or if an emergency occurs.

4.   Set Boundaries

It can be easy to feel guilty about not giving your parents your full attention as they get older. However, when you have kids or are starting a family in another way, you need to have your own life and time away from your parents, and this means setting boundaries over the type and amount of care that you provide. If your parents cannot care for themselves at all, you should consider asking for help from family or friends or consider booking respite care to allow you to unwind and give your parents the best care possible when they return. You also need to make sure that you are there for the other members of your family, establishing priorities that will allow you never to miss a key family moment while giving your elderly parents care.