Elder Care

Ways to Lessen the Burden of Looking after Your Elderly Parents While Raising Your Children

December 13, 2019 by Martha Minniti

By the time that your parents will not have the capability to take care of themselves, the next thing you know is that you are bearing the responsibility of taking care of them. While this is not an issue for you, having this responsibility may make it harder for you to take care of your children.

If you find this overwhelming, you can follow these tips to help make this task bearable.

1. Keep everything organized.

With all the things that you have to take care of, it would be best to create a functioning schedule that everyone can follow. Make your whole arrangement more doable by following a routine. When you have daily things to do, it will lessen the mistakes that you will commit, and you will most likely finish everything on time. When you keep track of the schedule and the assigned tasks for that specific time, you will be less likely to skip any crucial tasks.

2. You may need help because you can’t do everything.

When given a responsibility, you always do everything to make sure that you have accomplished it properly. The same goes for taking care of everyone. Attending to the needs of your parents and your kids can be very daunting. The mere fact that you have to deal with two different generations may be too much for you.

With all the household chores and the baby stuff going on, it is hard to insert enough time to attend your parents’ needs. It may be impossible for you to accomplish tasks physically. If that is the case, then it would be best to ask people for help. You can approach various support groups to give you tips on how to handle such responsibilities.

You may also look for people who can take care of your children or your parents when you are at work or when you are running for some errands.

3. Make everyone feel that they are safe in your home.

The elderly value safety. So, if your parents live with you, be sure that you make them feel that your place is a sanctuary. Assure them that they are staying in a safe place. The space of your home is enough that they do not get hurt as they move around.

Avoid any untoward incidents in your home, as these may cause your parents to be injured.

4. Consider the idea of changing your job.

When your job prevents you from providing full care to your kids and parents, you may want to consider changing your career. There are a lot of flexible jobs, which can help you attend to your family commitments without sacrificing your income.

You may want to try jobs that give you the capacity to work at home, or jobs that only require you once or twice a day to be at the office. Not only will you be able to check on your kids and parents properly, but you can also save a lot of time and money from commuting.

Taking care of yourself is essential, especially since there are a lot of things on your plate right now. Make sure that you get enough time to sleep and food to eat as you face each day with more and more tasks. Learn to socialize and breathe once in a while.

Having A Healthier Lifestyle Reduces the Risk of Developing Dementia

October 3, 2019 by Martha Minniti

Dementia can be reduced by exercising regularly, refraining from drinking alcohol and smoking, keeping healthy blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol, and eating a healthy diet.

According to WHO, the population of people who have dementia will increase by three times the current census. Studies have shown that what is beneficial for the heart also can be applied to the brain.

Make it a priority to be physically active

Being active is one of the best ways you can reduce your risk of dementia. It’s good for not only that but also your heart, circulation, weight and mental wellbeing.

The best way to get started and to stay motivated is to find a way of exercising that you enjoy and that works for you.Try starting with a small amount of activity and build it up gradually.

Even 10 minutes of exercise is good, and make it a point to avoid sitting down for too long.

Here’s a list of suggested activities

Try incorporating moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, riding a bike or pushing a lawnmower, jogging, or fast-swimming if you are able.
should also build in some resistance activities that require strength and work your muscles twice a week, such as digging in the garden, or exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups.
Take part in activities require both aerobic and resistance such as weight training

Watch Your Diet

Eating a healthy, balanced diet may help to reduce your risk of dementia, as well as other conditions including cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, stroke, and heart disease.

Not only that, you will feel better when you eat better!

Simple choices like these will make a difference:

Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Eat protein (such as oily fish, beans, pulses, eggs or meat) at least twice a week.
Limit your sugar intake, and look out for hidden salt.
Limit starchy foods like bread, potatoes, and pasta.
Drink 6–8 glasses of fluid a day.

Don’t smoke

If you are a smoker, you’re putting yourself at a much higher risk of developing dementia. And, you are also at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, stroke, and lung and other cancers.

Smoking harms your circulation of blood around your body, including the blood vessels in the brain, as well as the heart and lungs.

Tips for stopping smoking

Talk to your doctor about finding the best support to help you stop stop smoking.
Set a date to motivate yourself to stop smoking.
Switch to a less harmful alternative nicotine-containing product such as e-cigarettes, lozenges or gum.

Reduce your alcohol consumption

Drinking too much alcohol increases your risk of developing dementia

You should aim to have moderate alcohol consumption. If you are a regular heavy drinker, you’re increasing your risk of alcohol-related brain damage.

Tips for cutting down on alcohol

Set yourself a limit and keep track of how much you’re drinking.
Try low-alcohol or alcohol-free drinks.
Try to alternate between alcoholic and soft drinks.

Keep Your Mind Physically Fit

Keeping your mind active another way to help reduce your risk of dementia.

Regularly challenging yourself mentally seems to build up the brain’s ability to cope with the disease. One way to think about this ‘Use it or lose it’.

Find something you like doing and challenges your brain and make a point do it regularly. Try out a few things and see what you enjoy the most that won’t be hard to keep up with.

For example:

Take a course or learn something new that you find enjoyable.
Learn a new language.
Do puzzles, crosswords or quizzes.
Play cards or board games regularly.
Make reading a regular habit.

Being social may also help to reduce your risk of dementia. Volunteering, or joining a club or community group are also good ways to stay socially active.

It’s never too soon to take control of your health

Mid-life or earlier is a good time to prioritize your health.

See your physician if you’re concerned about health problems such as depression, hearing loss, or not getting enough sleep.

All of these might increase your risk of dementia.

Caring for an Elderly Parent? 4 Ways To Reduce The Stress

June 20, 2019 by Martha Minniti

One day your parent seems fine and then the next day it seems like they’ve aged tremendously.

It’s sad when you realize that your once young and vibrant parent has become an elderly person needing your help.

Sometimes it feels like they’ve gone from taking care of you and then in the next moment they’re suddenly relying upon you to look after them.

Or, in the case of some elderly parents they’re hiding the fact that they need you to care for them in order that they can keep their independence. Then a major event happens that brings this need to be cared for to the forefront.

Making this transition into caring for an elderly parent can take a toll on your emotional well-being and theirs as well.

We care for our parents out of love and we don’t want them to end up in a place or situation where they are not cared for. Sometimes it’s impossible for us to properly care for them so we have to look into facilities or on-site help to keep them in their home as they make this transition from independent living.

If you find yourself in this situation, having to take more care of your elderly parent or being more involved in their affairs here are four ways that you can ensure that you care for them without compromising your own health and well-being.

Make Lists of What They Need

It’s helpful to make a list of all the things that your parent needs help with right now. When you’re thinking about that list includes all of the daily activities that you need to assist with as part of their normal health and care routine.

Then make a second list of all the things you think they will need to have help with in the future.

Some of the things on this second list are:

What will happen when there are not able to drive anymore?
What normal daily care and health routine will they need help with in th future?
What kind of access do they have to get help if they need it?
What financial resources do they have?

Making these two separate lists will help you visualize and think about what they need now and also in the future so that you are prepared.

It’s better to make these lists and kind of have a plan of action in place for the future rather than waiting until it becomes more urgent.

If you have siblings, you definitely want to make sure that everyone is pitching in to help and understands the situation of your parents. Keep in mind that in most situations research shows that in 90% of families one sibling takes on the majority of care. This can happen because of proximity to the parent or because of parent-child relationships.

Everyone has a different idea of what their role should be in caring for an elderly parent and at times it can be hard to coordinate all of these expectations and desires.

Just understand that it is normal that caring for an elderly parent is not usually split evenly between siblings.

2. Take time to Educate Yourself

Take the time to educate yourself because you need to know about what facilities there are in plans that you can use to help care for your parents. Think of it this way knowledge is not just power it is also a way to lower your stress levels because you’re taking care of things in the best way possible.

Here are a couple of examples for you to consider

Do you know the local respite facilities?
Do you have back-up to help you while you help them?
Do you know how to best take care of medical bills and facility bills?

Don’t take on the role of a caretaker so that the whole rest of your life gets taken over by this and everything seems to fall apart, including your health and well-being.

Understand that you cannot do it all alone and that nobody should expect you to.

3. Setting Boundaries is important

Setting proper boundaries can be tricky at times. You love your parents but you need to have good boundaries in place so that you don’t become resentful.

Yes you’re going to feel pressure and stress at times after all you’re worried about your parents’ well-being comfort and health while also feeling like it’s a burden. these emotions can feel very stressful.

especially if you are managing everything all by yourself with no help from your family. you need to set good boundaries and find a way to feel okay about saying no or taking a time out for yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

4. Find Safe People To Talk With

When you’re feeling overwhelmed it’s a good idea to have someone that you can discuss your situation with that is understanding and supportive to your situation.

Speaking openly Like this will help release tension and work to manage your emotional health and well-being. It’s important to find someone who is empathetic and a good listener like a spouse a friend or even a professional.

Resist the temptation to keep it all inside and not share your emotions and feelings. honestly it’s hard enough to care for elderly parents and don’t add to the stress by keeping all of those feelings pent up inside of you.

Getting things off your chest and talked out will help you feel so much better

And while you’re at it, take a moment to step back and appreciate yourself for all of the effort you’re putting into caring for your elderly parents.

And also while you’re in this stage of life with your elderly parents it’s also good to find time to lovingly bond with them as best you can. Especially if you know that you are getting close to their end-of-life you want to make sure that you have closure.

Getting help to deal with this aspect of your relationship with your parents is a very smart choice and will help you to navigate this particular phase in both of your lives.

To sum it all up, I suggest that you start with making the list and educating yourself. don’t forget those all-important boundaries and finding someone support that you can talk with as you navigate caring for an elderly parent

Caring for your elderly parent or parents does not need to be an all-consuming and stressful situation.