Make Caregiving Easier
Research has shown that caregivers often underestimate the abilities of their loved one. It’s important to recognize the difference between doing things for someone and showing the person how to do it themselves. Here’s how to make both of your lives easier.
Learn to gauge their abilities. Find out how capable your loved ones are at caring for themselves.
Do things together, with each of you having certain responsibilities, and thereby working as a team.
As the both of you work together you will learn each other’s strengths and limitations. From this you can gain greater understanding of the extent of what you need to provide and a balance of responsibility can be established.
Write up instructions for the a.m. and p.m. so you’ve established a routine of things that need to be done and what they can do on their own, and have them check off each one they accomplish.
Break up tasks into more manageable steps so that responsibilities are easier to accomplish.
Monitor whether or not things are getting accomplished at the right time. This will allow you to learn where more or less help from you might be necessary. You can also determine if changes such as more light or perhaps mobility issues need to be considered.
While it may seem “easier” for you to try and do everything, in the end by sharing responsibilities you both will benefit from a feeling of independence for as long as possible.
