As your senior grows older it may become more difficult for her to accept help from you and from others. Much of this has to do with either perceived or real loss of dignity, which can be avoided.

Respect Her Privacy

Your senior’s privacy is just as important now that she needs your help as it always has been. Knock before you enter rooms and be careful how you approach conversations about hygiene and other personal care tasks. Anything that could be embarrassing needs to be handled with her privacy in mind. You might find that just doing as much as you can to respect your senior’s privacy helps her to feel more relaxed.

Let Her Do What She Can Do
There may be a lot that your senior needs help with now, but there can still be a lot she can do, too. Let her do what she can do. If you’re constantly taking over specific tasks, that can lead to damaged self-esteem for your senior. It can also lead to her losing some of those abilities a little more quickly because she’s not doing those tasks any longer. It’s empowering for your elderly family member to be able to handle some tasks. Let her do what she can.

Be Careful Who Hears What
If you’re telling your senior’s business to the entire family, that can create problems you might not fully understand until they get out of hand. Your senior’s privacy extends to privacy about what’s going on with her health and in her life. Just because you’re more fully integrated in her daily life as her caregiver that doesn’t mean she’s okay with everyone knowing everything. Talk to her about what you can share and what you can’t.

Your Tone of Voice Matters, Too
Your own tone of voice can let your senior know what you think of her, so be careful. If you’re talking to her as if she were a child, that can lead to her feeling embarrassed and ashamed. None of that helps her to feel as independent as she can still be, which is what you want for her. Talk to her as respectfully as possible.

Some of this is not naturally easy for you as a caregiver and that’s okay. Elderly care providers can help you to learn how to handle these situations with as much respect and dignity as you possibly can so that you protect your senior’s emotional well-being.

Excerpt: This isn’t an easy time for your senior, or for you.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Elderly Care in Spartanburg, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens,Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas.

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Edward Harrison

Founder at Heart of the Carolinas

Edward Harrison founded the Heart of the Carolinas Homecare in 2007 when he saw there was a need for caregivers that provide non-medical home care services, at a price that most people could afford. It was standard in the industry to require hourly minimums and it was common to be assigned a caregiver, not matched with one based on your individual personal needs. Edward understood that to make a successful relationship between caregiver and client, skills were not enough, personality and compatibility plays as much a role as do skills.

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