After his fall, your dad requires help each day, and you’re happy to help him. But, when your kids go back to school, it adds another layer to your to-do list. Between work, your children’s school activities and transportation, your dad’s care needs, and time for yourself, you feel stretched thin. It may be time to consider getting help from a home care provider.
Family caregivers need to take breaks and focus on self-care needs. It’s time to figure out how to simplify your schedule and ensure everyone gets equal time without causing yourself excessive stress.
Create a Daily Schedule
While it will take time to create a daily schedule of everything you have to do for your children, your dad, your work, and yourself, it helps to see it laid out. There is a chance that you won’t have time to do everything when you look at things this way.
If you have too much to do, it’s time to ask others for help. If your brother is picking up his children from school, he might be able to get your children at the same time. That’s one task off your list. He could stop and pick up your dad’s prescription refills on the way, so that’s two taken care of.
See Where You Can Cut Out Tasks
Are there any unnecessary tasks? If you are making your dad’s bed each morning, decide if it’s really that important. A messy bed that’s exposed to sunlight can help reduce dust mites. Dust mites need humidity levels over 50% to survive. When sheets and pillows are in the sun, the humidity level decreases.
When you skip making the bed, it can actually help your dad with allergies to dust mites. It also saves you about five minutes that you can allocate to another task.
Make Your Dad Part of Your Break
You need to focus on self-care, and one of the most effective ways you’ve found to reduce stress is a walk in the woods. If he’s able to walk, bring him along. You might find that he’s able to walk as long as he has his cane with him.
If a forest trail is too much for him, a cemetery is a quiet location and usually has groomed roads and lanes to walk on. While you walk, have your dad help you identify birds and other aspects of nature. It will help you come up with meaningful conversations.
Arrange Respite Care Services Through a Home Care Provider
Respite care is a service offered by home care aides. Instead of being with your dad all day, every day, a caregiver takes over for a few hours. You have time for yourself, but your dad still has someone at his home to help him out.
Home care services are there to support you. Talk to a specialist in home care about your dad’s care needs, how often you are available to help him, and how many respite care hours would help keep you from burning out.
If you are considering hiring a Home Care Service that is dedicated to the senior care market, contact 24/7 Coastal Contact today at (251) 260-0226.
Let us show you how and why we are different from any other service you may have tried in the past. Our team approach is the standard that sets us apart from the rest.
Prior to establishing 24/7 Coastal Contact, Ms. King worked for 30 years in the health care industry. Her experience began providing direct patient care. Eventually, she transitioned into home care and home infusion, then acquired her HCS-D certification as a Home Health specialty coder where she learned about the administrative burden facing Home Health and Home Care providers.
It became clear that after-hours customer service was a major toll home care industry and it was with this need in mind that 24/7 Coastal Contact was founded. In the three years since its start, 24/7 Coastal Contact has grown explosively. Now, we provide service to over 40 agencies in over 24 states with a 95% retention of service rate.
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