It’s hard to believe, but you might be doing more for your senior than she really needs for you to do. When you do that too long, she may start to lose more of her capabilities than you expect. The last thing you want to do is fast track any loss of skill.
Being Able to Keep Doing Tasks Is Important
It’s easy to forget this but feeling empowered and being able to do specific tasks goes hand in hand. If you’re taking over a lot of the tasks that your senior does on a regular basis, that can be a problem. She may start to lose some of those skills along the way and then she won’t be able to do them if she needs to. If there are tasks your senior still can do, she should as long as it’s safe for her to be doing so.
Find Ways to Make Tasks Easier for Her
Just because you’re letting her do more doesn’t mean your senior has to struggle, though. If there’s a way to make a certain task easier, make it happen. For example, if your senior still wants to make her own coffee in the morning, look at that entire task from start to finish. Is the coffee maker easy for her to reach on her own? How about the mugs and the coffee itself? If you need to move or adjust any of that, do so and let her handle the task.
Let Her Explore Her Limits
It’s really important to let your senior learn her own limits. Telling her that she can’t do something any longer is something you want to save for safety concerns. For instance, if she honestly can’t drive any longer, you need to let her know that. But if she can still make her own coffee, trust her to know when she can’t any longer. This helps her and you because she knows you’re there for her, but she also knows you’re not trying to just take over everything.
Working with Elderly Care Providers Can Help
Some caregivers have a tough time with this concept because it’s hard to just watch their senior having difficulty with anything. Working with elderly care providers can help you to start to see ways that you can respect your senior’s limits and boundaries while still being there for her. It’s a delicate balance, but it’s entirely possible.
Sometimes loving someone and caring for them means letting them do things for themselves on occasion.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering elderly care in Englewood, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
