Handy Details to Keep in Mind When Taking Care of a Senior

Taking care of an elderly family member or loved one can be a big challenge. They have many different needs than the average, younger person so it can be harder to know what you’re doing well or not, especially if you don’t have any experience with dealing with senior care. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or feel worried about because elderly care can be learned by anyone.

A lot of people are starting to take more and more care of their elderly parents or loved ones because they understand that money can be tight, or that they want to provide a more familiar environment for them. Whatever the case is, you need to know how to transition this part of your life into caretaking mode. Here are some handy tips to keep in mind when caring for a senior.

Maintain Your Patience

Seniors take longer to do tasks and often have memory-related issues, so it’s easy to lose your cool or your patience expecting them to get things right immediately or get them done quickly. This is not helpful when caring for them because it makes you less caring and can be emotionally taxing on the senior you’re caring for. Most seniors also experience age-related hearing loss. Hearing aids for seniors can help for better communication. Remembering to maintain your patience is a must to ensure that they are able to live a happy and comfortable life while also knowing that you aren’t pressuring them to do tasks quickly. 

Consider Looking Into a Care Home

It might also be that looking after them in your home is too much responsibility. It doesn’t make you a bad person to suggest a care home, it simply means you don’t think you can provide the highest level of care that will allow them to live a happy life. Looking at the facilities of Arcare in Melbourne, you can see what to look for when searching for a care facility for your loved one. Trusted and caring staff, a wonderful social life, good food and fitness support, and safe residences are some of the top qualities you should search for if this is the path you choose for senior care.

Listen to Them Instead of Just Talking to Them

Seniors often don’t get the help and care they need because people stop treating them with independence and respect. Infantilizing (treating like children) seniors has a negative impact on their social well-being and their ability to do tasks on their own. The best piece of advice for avoiding that mistake is to listen to them, listen to their questions, concerns, and needs instead of just talking to them and expecting them to do everything and only what you say. Let them be heard so you can both mutually benefit when it comes to providing and receiving care.

Know Their Routine

Knowing your senior’s routine is also crucial for keeping up with their daily care. It’s important that a senior can help feel like they have independence, but as people age, they become more reliant on a schedule and repetition. That is why it’s good for you to know their routine to help them stick to it. The most crucial aspect of their routine is often taking medication which has to be done strictly or else there could be potential health complications. It’s also good because it helps you match your schedule to theirs so you can juggle any of your personal responsibilities with caring for their needs simultaneously.

Provide Them With a Safe Environment

If you’re going to be the primary caregiver for a senior in your life, then the environment that you will be providing that care is another aspect of being responsible too. If it’s your home that they’ll be living in with you, you need to make sure that the floor surfaces are not slippery for them to walk on, that there are railing supports for staircases, no tripping hazards like low steps for rooms. Preferably, a senior-safe home is one that doesn’t have stairs as this can be a serious safety hazard for them and makes it harder for them to get around. It’s possible to get chairlifts too if you need to provide them with more mobility, but altogether, you need to give them somewhere safe to live.

Caring for a senior takes a lot of responsibility, patience, and hard work, if you can manage to juggle all of these responsibilities, you can be ready to take care of a senior loved one.