As seniors age, their needs change. Sometimes that happens so gradually that they don’t realize that they need to be doing something different. Accepting the help of senior home care providers is one solution, but if seniors aren’t ready to hear about making this change, they might not be too excited about the idea. What can make a difference is how family members talk to seniors about this type of care.
What Does Senior Home Care Do?
First, it helps to know what senior home care does. This type of care is designed to support aging adults in their own homes with tasks that they need help managing. Home care can handle things like light housekeeping, helping out with personal care tasks, making meals, and so much more. What they do is more dependent on what seniors need help managing than anything else.
Prepping for the Talk
Before starting up a conversation about elder care services and bringing them into a senior’s life, it’s a good idea to do some prep work. Identifying current needs and considering how those needs might change in the future helps when looking at how senior home care can help. It’s also a good idea to consider what health issues seniors are facing now and later.
Choosing the Right Setting
Timing is always important with big conversations and this one is no different. Family caregivers should choose a time and place when everyone involved is relaxed and open to talking about big topics. If there’s a lot of stress happening, shift the conversation to a later time.
Engaging with Empathy
The idea of bringing in home care assistance can feel threatening sometimes for aging adults. Thinking about the topic from their perspective helps family caregivers understand more about why this might be tough for seniors to talk about. Try to keep that in mind and engage with empathy instead of trying to make the conversation cut and dry.
Highlighting Benefits and Finding Solutions
Focusing on benefits and solutions can sometimes be the key to helping seniors embrace home care. This is where the research about current and future needs can pay off. Comparing how senior home care can help aging adults with what they need help doing can be a fast way to help them see why this is a good idea.
Listening and Addressing Concerns
It’s normal for seniors to have questions and concerns about such a big change. When family caregivers take the time to actively listen and understand why seniors are concerned, everybody benefits. It’s always possible that there’s merit to what seniors are worried about. Finding the answers and alleviating the concerns builds trust.
Take Small Steps
Finally, it’s never a good idea to make immediate changes and to tell seniors that they have to simply accept this new type of help. A better option is to take small steps and go with a trial period. This allows seniors to have time to adjust and to get a feel for what senior home care is all about.
Senior home care offers tons of benefits, but burying those in a conversation that didn’t go well doesn’t help anyone. Tackling the conversation the right way can help seniors and family caregivers get the help they need.
Reference
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/aging-caregiving-older-adults
If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Tempe, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!