It may be time to hire a senior care assistant if your aging relative really needs help with basic tasks like bathing, cooking and cleaning. But what happens when they refuse to allow help? Many seniors are afraid of transitioning from independence to requiring aide. It can be a real challenge for family members to convince aging relatives to accept senior care services.
Here are 5 things that you and other family members can do to help convince your elderly relative that they need to get on board with senior care assistance.
1. Questions and Answers.
When it comes to figuring out why your elderly relative is resisting help, you need to ask deep and probing questions. Ask them how they feel about certain things and listen carefully to their answers. When they elaborate on their thoughts, listen closely. Often, their worries and fears are easily addressed and you can come up with a fine solution.
2. Slow and Patient
Few elderly adults welcome the idea of a stranger caring for them in their own home with open arms. Start having conversations early, before any health issues get worse. Talk about issues like privacy, dependency and cost over time, not all at once. Go over all the different care options available so that your elderly relative feels as if they are making a choice and not being told what to do.
3. Start Small and Build Up
Many seniors won’t mind a few small services on their behalf, such as housekeeping or meal preparation. These are often seen as luxuries and elderly people may enjoy feeling a little spoiled. After they get used to people in their home doing tasks for them, it can often be easier to expand that role into house care and personal care.
4. Appeal to Authority
When family members don’t have much success talking with their aging relative, sometimes other authority figures may have a little more influence. If you can let your elderly relative talk to a doctor, nurse, clergy member, senior citizen advocate or other respected individual about the need for senior care, they may listen.
5. Compromise
Your aging relative may not be ready for the level of caregiving that you want them to have, but they may agree to a small level of involvement. As long as they are not putting themselves in danger, it might be a good idea for you to let them choose what tasks they need help with and how often. Sometimes, it takes some failures to convince someone they really do need help.
It can be a real challenge to convince aging adults that they do need a helping hand around the house. Using persuasive techniques and exercising patience may be the way you get them to agree to senior care assistance.Source:
https://www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving/info-07-2013/caregiving-aging-parents-jacobs.html
If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Springfield, NE, please contact the caring staff at Seniors Helping Seniors® Greater Omaha at (402) 215-0308 today.