Talking to your aging parents about in-home care is tough. The role reversal of the children having to take care of the parents is difficult for you and difficult for your parents. But the time to talk about in-home care options is before your parents really need help. That way you can discuss various options for help before there is a crisis or emergency. It will probably take more than one conversation to come to a mutual decision about what is best for your parents so if you haven’t started the conversation about senior care yet, you should.
Use these tips from communication experts to make it easier to open a dialog about in-home care:
Get The Facts
Before you start talking to your parents about home care you should know more about senior care. Prepare for the conversation by reading as much as you can about in-home care options and learning the details of different types of home care. That way you will be able to answer any questions that your parents have during the conversation or know who can answer their questions if you can’t.
Consider Your Parent’s Situation
What kind of senior care would work best for your parent or parents? Could they benefit from round the clock care or would a senior care giver who comes in just for a few hours each day be a better fit? Think about your parents’ health, living situation, and comfort level with having a stranger coming into the home before you talk to them about home care.
Do A Financial Plan
One of the concerns that your parents might have about home care is the cost. You can prepare for this by getting an estimate for different levels of senior care at home so that the cost of that care is clear. You can also go over your parents’ finances to see if they can afford home care. Be sure to check their insurance to see if the insurance or Medicaid would pay for any home care, often Medicaid will pay for at least some in-home care at home.
Get Specific About In-Home Care
It will help if you can discuss specific tasks that a home caregiver can do so that your parents are better able to grasp how much help a home care worker can give them. Talk about how a in-home care aide can do the dishes, help them with the grocery shopping, do the laundry for them, and help them cook meals. Ask them what tasks they would like help with or what tasks they would like to not have to do anymore. Give them input in deciding what help a home care giver would provide for them.
Do A Trial Run with an In-Home Care Aide
Sometimes the best way to help your parents understand what a help it can be to have in-home care at home is to show them. Have a caregiver come in for a trial run one day a week for a few weeks so that your aging parents can see how helpful and pleasant it is to have a caregiver helping them live comfortably at home.