What Are the Four Most Common Clashes Family Caregivers Deal With?
Coordinating the care your aging parent needs is already a challenge.
Your mom doesn’t drive, so she needs rides to stores and appointments. Your dad can’t cook, so someone needs to prepare his lunches and dinners. When you add family squabbles into the mix, it can feel overwhelming. Here are four of the most common clashes and what you can do to resolve them.
Differing Opinions on What is Needed
Your brothers are convinced that while she has Alzheimer’s, your mom’s still fine at home alone. You believe that it’s better to get measures in place before issues occur. If you’ve taken no action and she wanders, you’ll be furious they didn’t listen to you.
These squabbles are common. Schedule a group meeting with her doctor. Have her doctor talk about how safe it is for her to be alone. An expert’s opinion is the best solution to these squabbles.
Your Parents Refuse to Have Help
You and your siblings are actually on the same page. The problem is your dad says he’s fine. He may be slower now, but he’s fine alone. He sees home care services as a loss of independence and privacy. He refuses to have a babysitter.
You can’t force your dad to get home care services, but you can enlist the help of a trusted friend or doctor to help you. If another party explains why your dad needs help, it can help.
You and Your Siblings Don’t Get Along
It’s hard to coordinate family care when siblings do not and will not talk to each other. If there is absolutely no communication, it’s going to be tough to coordinate anything. You may need an impartial person to handle scheduling. Siblings talk to that person and not to each other.
One Person is Doing Too Much
One sibling stops by once a week for five minutes to bring in the mail. Another sibling is stopping by three times a week to mow the lawn, cook a week’s worth of meals, and clean the house. There’s an imbalance.
You need to look at personal situations, work schedules, and locations and decide what’s fair. If one sibling lives an hour away, a trip to mom or dad’s house takes two hours there and back. Plus, there’s the time spent helping around the home. If a sibling lives down the road, it’s reasonable to assume that family member can stop in more often. Consider all of these factors.
Use Home Care Services to Your Advantage
To avoid some of the most common squabbles, look into home care services. For a sibling who lives an hour away and holds a full-time job, trips during the week may be impossible. Siblings who live closer may have children who have homework and extracurricular activities to fit into the schedule. Hiring caregivers to help out during the week makes sense.
If you are considering hiring Home Care in Northville, MI, contact the caring staff at No Place Like Home Health, LLC today. Call (734) 259-4200.
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