Spending Some Quality One-on-One Time as a Caregiver in Pittsburgh
Teresa had been taking care of her mother for several months. She had never considered herself a caregiver and didn’t think that she would ever need to be providing home care for somebody, but when her mother slipped and fell and broke her hip that first time, it was either that or hire a professional in home care provider.
Her mother was adamantly against hiring any in home care provider. Because Teresa was concerned about her well-being, she agreed to take on this very important role. Teresa had a full-time job and a lot of other responsibilities as she was very busy with activities throughout her community. Being a caregiver was going to be another burden to her.
She refused to think about caring for her mother as a burden, however. Yet she often found herself trying to find ways to “squeeze” some time in to stop by her mother’s house. Her mother needed assistance getting out of bed and into the shower most days. Teresa wasn’t as comfortable as she would’ve liked with this, but since her mother refused to hire a professional in home care provider, she didn’t feel that she had a choice.
Through all of those months of providing home care for her mother, Teresa missed an opportunity to actually spend quality time with her. Teresa had been a very busy person from the time that she graduated high school and went off to college. She didn’t spend time just sitting around talking to her mother very often. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, it was that she didn’t think that she had the time to spare.
Teresa would’ve found out a lot about her mother and what she really needed with regard to home care if she had spent some quality one-on-one time with her rather than rushing through the basic care she was providing.
September is One-on-One Month and it’s a good opportunity to be reminded that just because you may be caring for an elderly loved one who needs help at home, that doesn’t mean running over there and helping them cook dinner or do some light housekeeping or assisting them out of bed is quality one-on-one time.
Sit down, have a nice meal with your elderly loved one, and have a good conversation. Talk about things they remember of their youth, people in the neighborhood, and friends that they might not have seen in a while.
As a caregiver, there is usually a lot you can learn even about your own elderly loved ones that can become incredibly important to providing the highest level of home care for them.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring an in-home caregiver in Pittsburgh, please call and talk to the caring staff at Extended Family Care of Pittsburgh. We will answer all of your questions.
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