November we celebrate Family Caregiver Month because being a caregiver is a huge responsibility.  Aside from having to be available at all hours, caregivers usually make major personal sacrifices to be able to provide care to seniors.  Home Instead Senior Care in the San Francisco Bay area gives a big thank you to family caregivers.

Here are other ways to say thank you to the caregiver in your family:

• A heart felt thank-you note/card.

• Gift certificate to their favorite coffee shop.

• Fresh baking for their morning snack.

• Fresh cut flowers to brighten the caregiver’s day.

• Cook a meal so they don’t have to after a long day.

• Frame one of their favorite pictures.

• Share a plant or a plant clipping.

• Pick up some groceries and drop them off on your way home.

• Return a favor.

• Watch their elderly loved one or child for an afternoon to give them some time off.

• Give a hug. Yes it can be that simple.

• Tell them what you think they are particularly great at.

• Give a hand made gift. Winter is in full swing here, so how about a knitted scarf or mitts? Or a center piece for their table.

• Make a special day just for them. Plan a day for them around what they enjoy. Go with them if it’s appropriate.

Source: Read the full list 20 Simple Ways to Show Appreciation

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Home Instead Senior CAREGiver Carolyne tries to make every day a holiday for her clients. She takes them back in time to a day when they were surrounded by family and friends, sharing good stories and fantastic food.

She often sets their tables with fresh flowers and good dishes. Then she’ll whip up a gourmet meal of braised chicken breast with lemon butter or pecan-encrusted salmon. The table often features fresh produce from a local market.

“I think it’s the highlight of their day.  We have a lot of laughter – everything from news items to family stories,” she noted.  Occasionally, extended family drops by to share in the fun. Mealtimes often last nearly two hours.

In addition to preparing delicious meals and setting the stage for meaningful companionship, CAREGivers like Carolyne serve as a second set of eyes and ears for families who are concerned about a loved one. Holidays at home with Mom or Dad can highlight the areas where an older adult may need more assistance than they did last year.

If you’re headed home for the holidays, be sure to look for the warning signs that indicate your senior loved one might need additional help with issues such as loss of appetite, unwanted weight fluctuations, spoiled food in the fridge or clutter.

For tips on recognizing the signs, register for a free Home for the Holidays webinar – Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. ET, or Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET. Representatives from the Home Instead Senior Care^® network will be on hand to provide valuable information about the warning indicators that a senior may need extra help and what you can do to support them.

We strive to provide your loved one with a customized plan of care and appreciate the confidence you place in your local Home Instead Senior Care office. Thank you for trusting your loved one’s care to us. If you would like more information about Home for the Holidays, or have any comments or questions, please call me at 617.557.4600.

P.S.  Remember, your Home Instead CAREGiver can help with other holidays too, from answering the door for trick-or-treaters to making sure the good dishes are ready for Thanksgiving company.

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Time constraints can often lead to stress. If you are currently feeling overwhelmed, here are some tips to accomplish what needs to be done:

•    Develop a schedule. Plan how much time you are going to dedicate to a project each day.
•    Have realistic goals. Approach your tasks systematically.
•    Be in an environment that allows you to function at your best.
•    Ask for help if you are overwhelmed.
•    Establish priorities.
•    Take a break when you need one.

Time Wasting

There are a number of negative behaviors you may engage in that produce stress including:
•    Time juggling: This is when you take on too much at once and are unable to complete everything you have to do.
•    Workaholism: If you spend hours working you often ignore time-saving techniques and end up being counterproductive.
•    Perfectionism: Perfectionists want everything to be perfect and will spend hours polishing something. This often takes away from your sense of accomplishment since you never think anything is good enough.
•    Procrastination: By consistently putting off your work, you leave it all to the last minute. This often means a poor end result and an increase in stress.
•    Yesism: This is the inability to say no. Like time jugglers, you often overbook yourself but it is in fear of disappointing others.

Source: HealthwellnessPlans.org

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Aging Parents Can be Difficult

Caring for an elderly parent is not an easy thing to do. Aside from the many responsibilities, older parents may just be nasty! This is common, especially with patients in the early stages of dementia. Seniors living with the disease often do not realize what changes are occurring and will become angry. That anger is often taken out on the person providing care. To help deal with aging parents, the following five tips can be beneficial.

1.    As a caregiver, it is important for us to put ourselves first. Not only will this allow a break from providing care, but it will allow caregivers the time to relax and spend quality time with their own family.

2.    Caregivers must know limitations. It is not possible to provide care to an aging parent every day all day. Being a caregiver is emotionally taxing and time-consuming. Setting limits will help avoid high levels of stress.

3.    Do not always look for praise or appreciation. While these are nice when they are given, they are not part of being a caregiver. When dealing with patients with dementia, there is hardly ever appreciation, so caregivers need to be aware f this as they go about their duties.

4.    Always love yourself for trying. It is not possible to make everyone happy. The goal of a caregiver should be to maintain or improve the health of an aging loved one. As long as this goal is being met, you are doing your job. Some caregivers will get angry with an aging parent and this is normal. Remind yourself that you are brave for even taking on the role of a caregiver.

5.    Allow time for breaks. Do not feel guilty for needing some time away from an aging parent. If you do not allow time off, stress levels will spike, as will anxiety, depression and tension.

Source: blogs.forbes.com

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Home Instead’s Resources for Caregiving

If you aren’t prepared with all the necessary documents in case of an emergency involving your loved one, it can be a very stressful time. Home Instead’s Senior Emergency Kit, contains all the information you need to put together the necessary medical documents in case a crisis arises. Some of the checklists featured in the kit include:

•    Relevant medical information.

•    Power of attorney forms.

•    Pharmacy and insurance company details.

•    Information on your loved one’s doctor.

More Caregiving Resources

After you have completed your Senior Emergency Kit, peruse the other available online resources. Home Instead offers a page of links that feature resources dealing with everything from costs to medication to family conflicts. Some of the sites Home Instead refers caregivers to include:

•    Life Legacies (www.lifelegaciesandwishes.com) – This site provides tools to ensure that your loved one’s last wishes are carried out.

•    National Alliance for Caregiving (www.caregiving.org) – The National Alliance for Caregiving has resources for caregivers.

•    Stages of Senior Care (www.stagesofseniorcare.com) – The guide provides a plethora of information including costs, what to avoid, care options and more.

There are many other online resources available through Home Instead. To look into all of them visit this page. Caregiverstress.com

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Handling an Elder Care Meeting with Ease

Tensions can run high when it comes to discussing elder care options with your family. There are a number of things you can do to make things run more smoothly including:

•    Leave out your extended family from the initial meeting. They can be involved in subsequent meetings.

•    Lay out some ground rules ahead of time.

•    Be respectful and don’t walk out.

•    Be clear about what needs to be done and don’t wander from that topic.

•    Invite a third part to mediate the conversation.

For more tips on family discussions about elder care read, “Tips for Family Elder Care Meetings.”

Don’t Agree to More You Can Handle

Make sure you can balance caregiving needs with your own needs and don’t make promises you aren’t sure you can keep. For more information read, “Tips for Family Elder Care Meetings.”

Advance Planning

To prevent caregiver stress it is best to discuss your parents’ needs ahead of time. Some things you may want to bring up include:

•    Allow your parents to be in control of how they want to age.

•    Get siblings and other family members involved in the conversation.

•    Find out where your parents want to live when they get older.

•    What nutritional needs aren’t being met? How can you arrange to meet them?

For more information on advance planning read this article. (http://carebuzz.com/tips-family-elder-care-meetings/).

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Are you Being a Perfectionist About Caring for Your Parents?

Certain personality types are extremely independent and feel that the only way to do something right is to do it for themselves. This may be how you feel when it comes to looking after your aging parents. Though your siblings may want to share the responsibility, you may feel that they aren’t equipped to handle it. Keep in mind that dedicating so much time can have adverse effects on your health. Here are something important things to note about primary caregiving:

•    Your siblings may feel left out and want to contribute.

•    Dedicating your time to caring for your parents could cause a lot of problems in your personal life, like, health problems and spousal or family problems.

•    Develop a schedule with your siblings.

•    Be specific about how they can help you and how to properly care for your parents.

It could turn out that your siblings do a great job and you may begin to feel more comfortable giving up some of your responsibility. For more information on sharing caregiving responsibilities with your siblings, read this helpguide.

Source: CaregiverStress.com

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Living with Your Parents and Lonely?

If you have moved into your elderly parents’ home to care for them, you may be experiencing feelings of loneliness. Spending all your time looking after your parents can isolate your from your peers. You may need to ask your siblings for help and consider the following options:

•    Be honest with your siblings.

•    Make a list of specific things they could help you with to give yourself a little more free time.

•    Ask them to visit more often.

•    Set up a Facebook page and get it contact with your friends from the past.

•    Invite a friend to dinner.

•    Contact a local bookstore to find a book club you could join.

•    Check your local newspaper to find out about upcoming events in your community.

•    Renew old acquaintances in communities you were a part of.

You may be surprised to find your siblings have no problem lending a hand to help you feel less lonely. If you need more information on fighting the stresses that come with caregiving, check out this help guide.

Source: Caregiverstress.com

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.

Helping Your Parents

As your parents age, they may need your help dealing with all of their responsibilities. When making a decision as to how much help you can offer, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Here are some tips:

•    Caring and maintaining for the house.

•    Paying bills and arranging doctor’s appointments.

•    Selling the house and moving into a care facility.

•    Hiring a nurse to visit your parent’s house periodically.

There are number of other ways you can assist your parents. Just be open with them and find out exactly what they need from you.

Taking Action

When it comes to making decisions for your parents, there are a number of factors to consider first. Don’t jump to any one outcome before weighing the pros and cons of each. Here are some tips when it comes to making decisions for your parents.

•    Are your parents just overwhelmed? Do they just need reassurance you will be there if they need you?

•    Take the point of view of your siblings and group it behind the opinion of your parents’.

•    Are you parents capable of making an informed decision?

•    Teamwork is the best approach to resolving this dilemma so work together.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by caring for your parents read this help guide for some helpful tips Caregiverstress.com.

Caregiving for Your Aging Parents

There is a lot at risk when it comes to planning for your parents’ future. In order to make the situation is as easy as possible there are some things you can do. Be sure to communicate with everyone involved and ensure they understand all aspects of any agreement reached. Do your best to focus on building better family relationships.

Questions You May Come Across.

Splitting the workload between your brothers or sisters can be very difficult when it comes to caring for your aging parents. Here are some questions you may come across:

•    What is the best way to divide the workload between your siblings?
•    How do you reach agreements on important topics with your family?
•    What is the best way to build teamwork among your family?
•    How do you avoid family conflict?

Important Decisions You Should Talk About With Your Family

There are few important issues you should touch on when making decisions regarding eldercare. These include:
•    Family inheritances
•    Finances
•    End of life issues
•    Estate Planning
•    Caring for Your Parent

The 50-50 Rule

Splitting the workload evenly between your siblings will help the transition into eldercare go smoothly. If you would like more information on the 50-50 rule check out this helpbook (http://www.caregiverstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/The-50-50-Rule-Helping-Siblings-Overcome-Conflict.pdf).

Home Care Boston providing elderly services in Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville. Call us at 617.557.4600.