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Making Your Parents a Part of Home Care Decisions

Home Care La Jolla CA: Your Elderly Parents Should be an Active Part of Making Home Care Decisions

Home Care La Jolla CA When you start to notice a decline in your parents’ ability to care for themselves it is easy to get swept up in feelings of love, concern, and responsibility and start making decisions about their care plans. While you feel you are doing what is right for your aging loved ones and taking steps to give them the safest, healthiest life possible, by taking total control of the situation you may leave your parents feeling disregarded, ignored, and even disrespected.

As much as you love your parents and want to do what you feel is right for them, it is important to remember that they are individuals who value their autonomy and deserve respect and full consideration in every step of their senior care planning. Imagine the stress you would feel if your child suddenly started telling you what to do, making decisions for you, and managing all aspects of your life. This type of stress can place a major strain on your relationship with your aging parents and make it even more difficult to ensure they get the appropriate care.

By allowing your elderly parents to be an active part of making home care decisions with you, you are giving them a voice and ensuring the type of care chosen is right for them. Working together also shows that you care about how your parents feel and about maintaining your close relationship rather than just making sure their care meets their basic needs.

These tips can help you work through conversations and encourage your aging parents to make important decisions about their home health services plan:

  • Take small steps. Start with a calm, straightforward conversation about issues you have noticed and why you think your parents should receive home care. Give them a chance to discuss their own concerns and how they feel about the idea of getting help.
  • Listen honestly. Make sure you listen carefully to everything your parents have to say and that you are fully engaged in the conversation. Acknowledge their thoughts and give them plenty of time to express themselves. Remember that they are participants in the decision-making process and deserve to be heard.
  • Acknowledge your role. Many seniors question why they would need home care if their adult children live close-by. If you are in this situation, part of letting your parents make decisions regarding their care will be acknowledging your role and establishing clear expectations about what you will do and when. Let them tell you what tasks they definitely want you to do and work together to establish a schedule that accommodates as many of their requests as possible while also taking into consideration your time and abilities.
  • Stay involved. No matter how much care you plan to provide personally, your responsibility in your parents’ home care services does not stop with hiring the care provider. Stay involved in the care by getting to know the caregiver, discussing your parents’ progress, and encouraging your parents to tell you about their care experience so you can make changes if the need arises.

For more information about how the caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable home care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities.

Brittnei Salerno

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