ELDER CARE
Prep for when an aging loved one moves in
About 34.2 million people provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in last 12 months
Inviting an aging loved ones into your home when they can no longer care for themselves changes family dynamics, and these changes should be discussed before and after
a loved one moves in.
No man or woman,
regardless of his or her age,
wants to consider that a day
may come when they need to
rely on loved ones to help them
perform everyday activities.
But every day, tens of millions
of people serve as unpaid
caregivers for their aging
friends or family members.
A 2015 survey from
the National Alliance for
Caregiving and AARP found
that approximately 34.2
million people had provided
unpaid care to an adult age 50
or older in the last 12 months.
Many unpaid caregivers are
pulling double duty, caring
for their aging parents while
also raising families of their
own.
While there’s no guarantee
that aging men and women
will require care, caregivers
figure to become more
necessary as life expectancies
increase. In fact, recent
years have seen the senior
population in the United
States exceed 50 million for
the first time in the country’s
history, and figures from the
U.S. Census Bureau suggest
that figure will continue to
rise until 2029.
Men and women who are
preparing to welcome an
aging loved one into their
homes may wonder how
to make that transition go
smoothly, especially if they
have young children at home.
The following are some
tips that can help families
prepare to welcome an aging
friend or family member into
their homes:
Speak with your loved
one’s physicians. Speak
with an aging loved one’s
physicians so you can
get a complete picture of
their physical and mental
condition. This can give you
an accurate depiction of how
much care your loved one
needs now and how much
they might need in the future
if their condition worsens.
Discuss forthcoming
changes as a family. Once
you gain a full understanding
of your loved one’s physical and
mental condition and before
this person moves into your
home, discuss it with your
family. Adding a new member
to your household will affect
everyone, so each member of
the family, including young
children, should be included
when discussing how the
family dynamic will change.
Parents must recognize that
even young children may be
asked to make sacrifices to
accommodate aging loved
ones. Explain these sacrifices
in advance and how important
it is to make an aging loved
one feel welcome when they
move in.
Discuss conditions with
children. Children may
recognize their grandparents
or elderly loved ones have
physical limitations, but
they likely won’t understand
conditions such as dementia or
Alzheimer’s disease. Parents
can ask a physician about how
to explain cognitive decline
to young children. Children
may not recognize cognitive
decline as readily as adults, so
parents may need to discuss
these conditions with their
children periodically and/or
if the conditions worsen.
Millions of people across
the globe welcome aging loved
ones into their homes when
they can no longer care for
themselves. Such caregiving
changes family dynamics,
and these changes should be
discussed before and after a
loved one moves in.
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM BT JUNE 21-27, 2019 21
/TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM
