Your parents need more help than you have time to give them. What are your options as a family caregiver? You work full-time and have your own home, so you stop by in the morning, head to work, and stop by after work. It’s exhausting. Have you looked at the benefits of elder care? You should as professional caregivers help your parents in so many ways.
Bathing/Showering
As mobility changes, taking a shower independently can become a challenge. You don’t want to get the call that your mom or dad fell while climbing in and out of the bathtub/shower combination or slipped stepping into the shower stall. Grab bars offer some protection, but elder care aides are even better.
Elder care aides help your parents get in and out of the shower. If they need a shower seat, the caregiver helps them get settled and hands them the things they need. Should your parents need help washing their body or hair, their caregiver helps out.
After the shower or bath, the caregiver helps them out. If they need assistance with towel drying, that’s an option. They may also want the caregiver to help them apply moisturizer after their shower and that’s also possible.
Companion Care
Do your parents complain about feeling lonely or isolated? Companion care at home is important. Caregivers stop by to talk to your parents, play games with them, or join them on fun outings to museums, parks, and stores.
Errands
Your mom and dad no longer drive, so they rely on you to run errands for them. Have a caregiver stop at the pharmacy to pick up prescription refills. Caregivers can pick up groceries or household items like toilet paper and cleaners at a warehouse store.
Grooming
If it’s harder for your parents to get dressed, shave, and trim their toenails and fingernails. You can hire elder care aides to help with those routine grooming tasks. If they need help picking out suitable clothing for the day, that’s possible.
Housekeeping
How about having a caregiver help with housework? That’s one of the most popular reasons to hire elder care. Your parents cannot keep up with dishes, and the vacuum is too heavy for them to push around the house.
Caregivers can do light housekeeping chores like vacuuming, dusting, wiping countertops, disinfecting faucet handles, and sweeping hardwood floors. They can make beds and change sheets and towels.
Laundry
Have caregivers stop by each week to do the laundry. During that visit, the caregivers can change the bedding and towels, put them in the laundry, and make sure it’s dried, folded, and put away. If your parents have items that need to be ironed, that is also possible.
Meal Preparation
Have caregivers cook meals and snacks. Your parents work with their caregivers on meal plans and can even take them shopping for ingredients.
That’s just a sampling of the tasks elder care aides help your parents with each week. Options like oral care, toileting, and transportation to appointments are also available. Call an expert in elder care to schedule these and other services.