How to Start a Conversation with Your Parent About Elderly Services
The need for elderly services comes at some point in the lives of many people. At any given time, about 13% of all adults over the age of 65 receive home care services of some kind. Eventually, there comes a time when an older adult or parent can no longer safely take care of him or herself in their own home. When this time comes, it can be difficult to initiate a conversation with your parent without offending their sensibilities. Read on to learn a few tips to help get the conversation about senior care with your parent.
Work with the whole family
Many parents are resistant to the idea of living assistance when only one family member is speaking to them. Enlisting the help of multiple family members can increase the likelihood that your parent will listen.
As a family, make a list of things that your loved one needs help or assistance with. This can act as a jumping off point for your discussion about the level of care that your parent needs.
Involve your parent in the process
Avoiding making all the decisions for your loved one; this will make him or her feel out of control and will increase resistance. Take your loved one along with you to tour senior care facilities or interview elderly services, and take their opinions into serious consideration.
Take things slowly
Talking about living assistance can be difficult-- it's not a topic that you need to have an hours long discussion about at once. Discussing small pieces of your long-term care plan at once (like where he or she would like to live or what kinds of appointments they need help getting to) can help you ease your loved one into the idea of living assistance.
If your loved one prefers to stay in his or her own home, there's now an alternative to assisted living facilities. Elderly services like those provided by Visiting Angels of Auburn can help older adults who need any amount of care to keep themselves safe and secure in their own home. No matter if your loved one needs a small amount of assistance completing daily tasks or he or she needs constant help, getting your parent the attention that they need is crucial to helping them avoid injury or illness.