Broaching the Topic of In-Home Senior Care—How Can You Respect Independence While Still Getting Your Senior the Care They Need?

Do you have a senior in your life whom you are worried about? Do you fear that he or she may need a little more help in their daily lives? When it comes to adult senior in-home care, there are different considerations to make.

At BlueSea Care, we know that broaching the topic of adding some professional in-home care for a loved one is a sensitive situation. When they consider non-medical in-home care for seniors, many loved ones feel that this possibility means a loss of independence. Some may react as if they are being treated like children, while others are resentful that their own loved ones need to share caregiving duties with perceived strangers.

Others may feel that caregivers for home health are a forced acknowledgement of impending mortality, especially when it comes to adult senior in-home care. Here are some tips for starting the discussion with a loved one while avoiding some of these pitfalls:

● Reinforce his or her independence. We want to empower seniors and help them see that in-home assistance seeks to preserve as much independence as possible, for as long as possible. By acknowledging the value they place on independence, we can help validate their feelings while continuing to provide adult senior in-home care.

● Highlight the benefits. Try to find examples of how this will benefit quality of life. For example, if your loved one struggles with a certain task, explain how help will enhance the quality of his or her daily life.

● Be honest about your limits. Acknowledge that you want to help as much as possible, but you can’t sustain a long-term situation without help. While you need to take care not to reinforce inevitable declines, you can be upfront that you need to plan for a situation that works for everyone both now and in the future.

● Work with your loved one to develop expectations. While a home health care assessment can highlight specific needs via trained professionals, you can still help your senior retain a sense of control by going over exactly what the goals are when considering an in-home caregiver. Part of the anxiety in any situation stems from fear of the unknown, so work with your senior to alleviate that uncertainty.

● Reassure your senior that you will help make this situation work. Remind him or her that you will assist in screening potential caregivers, and will respect that some may be incompatible.

As a premier provider for local senior care at home, BlueSea Care knows that getting seniors to accept care, while reinforcing their independence, is a delicate balancing act. By being honest, while acknowledging the difficulty of the situation, you can help your senior better transition into this new reality. You may still face friction, but you will also feel confident that you are doing your best throughout the process.