A 2022 national poll from the University of Michigan on Healthy Aging, showed that more than half of adults over the age of 50 have helped an adult age 65 or older with health, personal, or other care tasks in the past two years.
If you find yourself in this group, you may be asking “when is the right time for in-home care”? Family members and loved ones may be stepping in to provide support but hiring in-home help may become necessary. Knowing when that point is can be difficult.
The first place to start is to be honest about how the added responsibility is impacting you. Being a family caregiver can be demanding. Has the level of care you have been providing negatively impacted your work, relationships, or health? Hiring a Caregiver may be the best solution for everyone involved as it will provide the necessary support for both you and your loved one.
The second thing to think about is how will this change impact your loved one. It can be difficult to admit that we may need assistance with some of the basic activities of daily living. In-home care doesn’t mean your loved one is no longer able to do things. In fact, it can help them continue to do the things they love. Approaching this subject with an aging loved one is never easy. With a little preparation and thought, you can start an honest and open dialog that will help lead to a plan for future care that you all can agree on.
