Bathing, Hygiene, and Grooming

Taking a shower is one area where your mom isn’t confident anymore. She fell stepping out of the tub, and that increased her fear. She’d rather have someone support her while she gets into and out of the tub. Her caregiver is there for support.

If your mom needs help washing her hair or body and drying off, that’s an option. Her caregiver can trim the nails on your mom’s fingers and toes. She can have her caregiver help apply skin cream to hard-to-reach areas.

Housekeeping and Laundry

Is your mom able to keep her home clean and organized? If not, she can have a caregiver around to vacuum the carpets, sweep hardwood floors, dust furnishings, and do the dishes. Her caregiver can wipe and sanitize surfaces and tidy up clutter.

With a caregiver’s help each week, your mom’s sheets are changed and washed. Her dirty clothing is washed and dried. Towels are changed and laundered. Everything is dried, folded, and put away before the caregiver leaves for the day.

Your mom’s caregiver can also help with oral care, toileting, shaving, and hair care. As she has a caregiver there to help her brush and dry her hair, making it easier for her to start her day.

Meals and Snacks

Your mom’s caregiver can prepare meals and snacks for her. She can talk to her caregiver about the foods she wants throughout the week. Her caregiver can take her shopping, if needed, and prepare those meals and snacks for her when it’s time.

Does your mom hate eating alone? If so, ask the home care agency about companionship during meals. Your mom can have her caregiver eat with her or sit with her while she eats to ensure she’s never alone during a meal.

Socialization

Your mom’s caregivers provide the friendship she needs. She can socialize with her caregivers while engaging in a favorite hobby, going on outings to stores and area attractions, or while playing games.

Your mom loves to garden, but she has a hard time carrying her tools and any ripe produce. With a caregiver helping out, your mom is social and engaged with others.

Transportation

Your mom no longer drives, but that doesn’t mean she’s stuck at home. Hire a caregiver to take her shopping or when running errands. Her caregiver can bring her to her medical or therapy appointments.

Hold a family meeting to narrow down where your mom does well independently and where she could use help. Once you have an idea of the services that would help her, call a home care specialist to make arrangements.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Mullica Hill, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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The best foods for seniors who want to stay hydrated are:

Watermelon

Watermelon is mostly water, as the name implies. There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than some cold watermelon. Watermelon is also easy to puree so that seniors who have problems chewing can enjoy it. A watermelon sorbet is a delicious snack. It’s also a fantastic way to end a meal. A home care assistance provider can help your senior loved one increase their hydration by cutting up or pureeing some fresh watermelon for them each day.

Citrus Fruits

Oranges, lemons, and grapefruits are all good sources of water as well as the best source for important minerals and vitamins like Potassium and Vitamin C. Snacking on some citrus fruit is a delicious way senior’s can stay hydrated. If you or a home care assistance provider want to tempt your senior loved one to eat more citrus fruit a great way to do that is to dip peeled orange segments into melted chocolate, then put the segments on a baking sheet in the fridge until they firm up.

Salads

Many of the components of a good salad are at least 85% water. Iceberg lettuce, kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots all have a lot of water in them. Just one salad  per day with a mix of these ingredients can significantly increase your senior loved one’s hydration without them having to drink more water. A home care assistance provider can make a salad for your senior loved one for lunch or for a snack each day.

Celery

Celery is another food that is mostly water but does have some vitamins and minerals too. If your senior loved one isn’t allergic to peanuts some celery spread with peanut butter is a fantastic snack for seniors. It has lots of water, protein, and healthy vitamins and minerals.

Drinking More Water

If your senior loved one doesn’t like drinking water because they don’t like tap water bottled water is a good option that might encourage them to drink more water. But you can also make water more appealing by adding fruit to it. With an infusion pitcher you or a home care assistance provider can make delicious fresh fruit water.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Medford NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

Source:

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/study-finds-a-lack-of-adequate-hydration-among-the-elderly

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If your siblings don’t live nearby they may not have a true understanding of your senior loved one’s state of mind or state of health. And during the holidays when everyone is already stressed out you might find yourself facing some judgmental or critical family members. Even well-meaning family members or siblings can have an offensive tone or seem accusatory while also not realizing how much care you provide. Having home care services providers can be a great way to help you get through this situation.

Here are some effective ways that you can handle criticism from family members without starting a family battle:

-Show Them What It’s Like

A very effective way to bring family members up to speed on the current mental and physical condition of your senior parent or parents is to have them take over care for a day. Your siblings may not realize that your senior parent’s state of mind of physical health has changed and that your parent now requires a lot more care. Sleep in and then do some leisurely shopping or get coffee while your siblings see what caring for a senior parent is really like.

-Suggest Alternatives Like 24-Hour Home Care

If your siblings have concerns about the care that you’re providing then suggest to them that it might be time for 24-home care for your parents. There are plenty of caring and experienced 24 hour home care providers who can take over care for your senior loved ones and make sure that they are safe and healthy around the clock. Offer to do some research to find a reliable 24 hour home care provider agency and find out more about the benefits of home care for seniors.

-Ask Them What They Would Do Differently

It can be hard not to be offended when it feels like your methods are being attacked, but your siblings might have good suggestions that you can use to make caring for your senior loved ones easier for everyone. Be open to hearing how your siblings would do things differently and make an effort to try the ones that are workable. You never know when an idea you hadn’t thought of might change the game when it comes to caring for your senior loved ones. Caring for your senior loved ones should be a collaborative effort.

-Home Care Services: Suggest All Communications About Care Be In Writing

When you’re dealing with your siblings all of your past arguments and relationship stresses will influence how you perceive each other. That can make people assume hostility, condescension, or judgment where there isn’t any and that can lead to communication problems. If you and your siblings have trouble discussing the care of your senior loved ones productively suggest that all future communication about your senior parents be in writing. Emails, texts, even a group chat on social media can be a more effective way to talk about important things because there will be no negative associations with the text that’s being read.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Voorhees, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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