As your senior parent ages, you will want to give them what they gave you; life, happiness, and independence. But at what point does your help become enabling? Of course, you want your senior loved ones to live a happy and healthy lifestyle that allows them to age in place instead of a home. However, there comes a point when they may rely on you too much or rely on senior home care too much, and this can lead anyone to enable unhealthy lifestyle habits.
So, how can you help without enabling them? Here are the best tips to take advantage of if you have just started caring for your mom or dad.
Knowing The Difference
When you start caring for your elderly loved one, you may not know the difference between enabling and helping someone. There is a thin line that can often be hard to navigate. When you are enabling someone, you may be doing more harm than good which can impact a senior in all sorts of ways. The major difference between helping and enabling is the necessity of the needs they are asking to be met.
You are enabling them if you are giving them whatever they ask for, even if it is not a need or something that promotes a healthy lifestyle. They may even be asking you to do things they are more than capable of doing themselves. On the other hand, if you are helping with things they can no longer do because of age, you are helping them, and it will lead them to feel better about aging in place.
Understand What They Can Do
If you’re not around your seniors often enough to know what they can and can’t do, this is something that you can ask senior home care. These professionals will observe your loved one and figure out what a senior truly needs help with, and then they will get you involved. Maybe they need help cleaning their homes because they’re no longer mobile.
You can help with the big things but still have them do the dishes and laundry. It’s essential to evaluate the seniors for where they are at and not just hand everything to them. When you challenge them, and they continue doing things for themselves, they will feel happier as they age because they maintain independence for as long as possible.
Always Encourage Independence
Even if your loved one doesn’t feel independent, always encourage them to try something independently the first time, even if they think they can’t do it. Sometimes the more a senior tries to do something, the better they get and the more likely they can do it alone in the future. However, you should never pressure your loved one.
Even if they need help doing something, you can still encourage them to do most of it on their own. For example, if your loved one needs help getting into the bathtub, that doesn’t always mean they need help inside of the bath. Get them into the tub but don’t baby them, and allow them to do it on their own.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care in San Francisco, CA please contact the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care Today! (415) 463-1400
Aviva In-Home Care provides exceptional senior home care in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Hillsborough, Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Berkeley, Lafayette, Orinda, and surrounding areas.
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