As a family caregiver it is easy to feel as though you should take on all of your parent’s care tasks and manage everything on your own. This, however, is not realistic. Simply because you have made the decision to give your time, energy, effort, and resources to caring for your parent does not mean that you have to do everything on your own. In fact, depending on your parent’s needs, this may be impossible. You cannot be expected to do everything by yourself, especially if they need support and assistance during times when there are other things that you should be doing, such as at night. During the night you need to get enough sleep to keep you healthy and ensure that you will be able to function safely and effectively each day. This means if your parent has difficulties such as wandering, falling, sundowning, or other problems, you will need to find another way to ensure that they are managed properly. Fortunately, home care may be the ideal solution.
Some of the ways that home care can help your parent at night include:
- Helping your parent with their nighttime routine to help them calm down and prepare for bed, such as bathing, changing into their pajamas, and getting into bed.
- Supervision to ensure that they remain safely in the home rather than wandering.
- Providing physical support and mobility assistance if they struggle with issues such as falling out of bed or tripping when walking to the bathroom.
- Offering companionship and support for a senior who is lonely or anxious at night.
- Being present to monitor symptoms or other issues so that they can alert you to anything that may be concerning and need further attention.
- Helping prevent dangerous issues such as a senior turning on the oven or stove and forgetting about it, potentially leading to a fire.
Being a family caregiver for an elderly adult can be a rewarding and meaningful experience. This is a wonderful way for you to show how much you love your parent and to give them the highest quality of life you can as they age in place. But this experience can also be very challenging and stressful. Fortunately, home care can help. A home care provider can be there for your parent to fill care gaps, provide companionship and support, encourage activity and good lifestyle choices, offer medication reminders, and more. This helps your parent to enjoy a fulfilling, meaningful, and healthy quality of life while also easing your stress, giving you peace of mind, and ensuring that you have the time and energy to manage the other obligations in your life.
If you or an aging family member are considering professional caregiver services in Babylon, NY, please call the caring staff at A Gentle Touch Senior Home and Health Care at 631-647-7622 today.