Watching your parents grow old can be upsetting particularly when they start to lose their independence.

During this time, it is important that you care for your parent as they once cared for you so that they can get the support that they need and age gracefully.

This can be a tricky area to navigate, especially if you have had not had discussions about their plans before, but the following advice should help you to make the right decisions and navigate the entire process smoothly and efficiently. This will, hopefully, allow each party to be happy and the family to remain tightly knit.

Listen To Your Parent

First, it is important that you listen to the wants and needs of your parent. It is their life, after all, so they should have a say in how they want to live during this stage of their life. This might involve having a carer or moving them into a care home.

In addition to listening to what they want their living arrangement to be, you must also listen to their fears and concerns as you need to be there for them for support during this time. Additionally, no matter what is decided you should always make sure that you are regularly visiting and checking on them.

Assess Needs

You need to then consider the needs of your parent and your own needs. For them, this will include areas like family support, home safety, medical needs, mobility, meal preparation and personal hygiene.

For you, you need to consider whether or not you are a suitable person to provide their care and also consider the financial aspect of getting a carer or paying for a care home. You should include other family members in this discussion so that you can properly weigh up the various options.

Options

This should help you to determine the best solution whether this is caring for them yourself, hiring a carer or moving them into a care home.

Often, a care home is the best solution as they will get high-quality care, they get the opportunity to socialise which is very important, and it can alleviate stress for you.

It is always a difficult choice which means that it can be incredibly upsetting if you discover that the level of care is neglectful – in this situation, it would be worth making a negligence claim with The Medical Negligence Experts. Usually, however, the level of care is excellent.

Support

No matter which option you decide on, it is vital that you provide plenty of support to your parent and visit as often as possible.

When you do visit, this should be a positive experience so it is worth thinking about days out that you could have, but you should also listen to them and make sure that they are happy and being cared for. You can provide support by:

a) Visiting them often, or if you are unable to see them in-person, phone them every othergs. They may be overly sensitive at this time.
c) Never ignoring them. You may think they are overreacting, but if they have an issue, be sure to speak to them about it or help look for a solution.
d) If they are going through a particularly rough time, make sure to pull out all the stops.

It is crucial that you carefully consider your options when a parent starts to lose their independence. Hopefully, this information will help you to determine the best path forward so that they can get the care that they need and continue to feel loved and supported.

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