You already know that a home care aide can improve the health and well-being of the senior that you love most, but did you know that home care has hidden perks too? These benefits of getting the help that you both need are more than enough reason to explore home care for your senior loved one.
1. The World Gets Bigger
When both of you and your parent are seeing only each other, your risks of depression and anxiety rise. A caregiver makes the whole world bigger. It allows you to get out for a while and it also allows your parent to welcome in a new friend who they can share stories and wisdom with.
2. You Realize You Aren't Alone
When you welcome a home care aide, you also welcome the very real truth that you are not alone in this anymore. Together, you can move mountains and take on everything that comes with them.
3. Fun Comes Back
If you have been focusing your efforts on caring for your parent, the dynamics of your relationship may have changed just a little. Both you and your parent likely miss the fun and spontaneous moments that you used to share. Home care opens up new opportunities for both of you to broaden your world, sharing new experiences and having plenty of free time left over to enjoy extracurricular activities at home or on the go. From baking cookies to settling in for a movie marathon, home care can help you bring the fun back into your relationship.
4. Continue Your Routine
The biggest and clearest reason to keep mom or dad in their own home is the word itself: home. Nowhere else is like it, from the kitchen table to the backyard to the familiarity of the pillows on the bed. And while it’s easy to guess how keeping an aging individual in a familiar environment might benefit their emotional state, did you know that the process of transitioning into a care facility can actually hasten mental and physical decline? The process is called regression, and it’s been widely documented in nursing care facilities around the country: a capable patient arrives at the facility, moves in, and in the first few weeks of residency loses or gives up the ability to do simple things for themselves that they were still able to do just weeks before.
5.Get Personalized Care
In addition to being able to enjoy a personalized environment, seniors benefit from receiving one-on-one care from a skilled professional if they can stay in their own home. The professional who works with your loved one will get to know their likes and dislikes, hobbies, and life story. The process of getting to know a new person in the comfort of their own home can turn over a new leaf for your loved one, who may enjoy the infusion of social time that having a live-in aide can bring.
6. Gain Confidence
Your loved one has intimacy and proficiency with their own home that can’t be overstated—or overrated. They know where the coffee filters are and where the light switch is in the bathroom. Everything is familiar, and at every turn there are simple things your loved one is able to do for themselves that can’t be replaced in an unfamiliar setting. Picking up new routines and learning how to function in a new environment gets more difficult as we age, so letting mom or dad remain at home lets them hang on to their skills and gain confidence in their movements and activities.
7. Receive Peace of Mind
It’s impossible to pin a dollar value on that feeling of relaxation and satisfaction. Mom or dad is being taken care of in the most comfortable, personal setting imaginable, the caregivers are in touch on a daily basis, and there’s no worrying about how your loved one is adjusting to a new place.
8. Utilize Current Technology
Current technology makes it easier to check up on an elderly loved one without requiring them to move into an expensive nursing home. Electronic devices are available to verify a senior has taken his medication. If not, the device will remind the senior. Some families find it helpful to install a camera so they can monitor their loved one and feel confident he is doing fine. Emergency buttons are also available so a senior can easily call for help, if needed.
At Caring Senior Service, our expert staff is comprised of extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and trusted professionals who take pride in helping your loved one manage their daily activities. Contact a Caring team today to learn more!
