Maintaining senior independence while ensuring safety is vital, and our experts in elderly care in Burlington and nearby areas can help.
Throughout life’s assorted stages, our self-reliance takes on different meanings. There are major occasions, like leaving our parents’ home or getting married, and smaller events, such as completing a challenging task on our own. Later, as we get older, retaining independence becomes the focus – the potential to remain in our own home safely and comfortably. This wish to age in place at home is commonly the greatest desire for seniors, regardless of their ability to perform tasks independently, even in the face of injury, sickness or chronic health concerns.
For adult children, caring for older parents at home is often challenging, with physical, mental and social concerns. Adult children may find the need to increase their time spent as a caregiver for an aging parent, as they become a lot more involved in the everyday tasks this crucial role requires, while also trying to balance their loved one’s self-reliance.
It’s not hard to get swept up in the role of caregiver —our parents have done a great deal for us, and when they need a helping hand, it’s instinctive to want to do anything we can to support them. But it’s crucial to keep in mind that, for the vast majority of seniors, maintaining independence is a key element in their desire to age at home. While our efforts may undoubtedly be well intended, it can be easy to go from caring for aging parents to taking over and doing everything for them. And often, this type of hands-on caregiving can have a damaging effect on the independence and overall day-to-day freedom older adults need and deserve.
Advanced Home Health Care, a provider of elderly care in Burlington and surrounding areas, suggests keeping the following in mind when it comes to senior independence:
- Independence affords the ability for seniors to continue contributing to the community and world around them, and to feel good about the impact they’re having
- Self-reliance offers seniors a feeling of achievement and self-worth, both of which are imperative during the later years
- Having the ability to complete tasks independently supports future and ongoing self-sufficiency
- Senior independence helps reduce the risk of feelings of discouragement and uselessness, even in the middle of sickness, injury and the overall difficulties of growing older
Try to imagine yourself in your senior loved one’s place. How would you feel if someone took over responsibilities that you knew you could do yourself? Letting a senior you love continue to do things independently provides a sense of purpose and can foster feelings of self-assurance. By bringing in the support of experts who specialize in home care services for seniors, you can help enhance your loved one’s feelings of empowerment and capacity to function effectively at home. Advanced Home Health Care, a leading Burlington area home care provider, is here to assist when the need arises – partnering with you and your loved one, and never taking over.
Our trained and experienced experts in elderly care in Burlington and the surrounding communities offer a broad range of home care services for seniors, allowing a senior you love to focus on what they can do, and providing support with tasks that are stressful. Our home care services include light housekeeping and meal preparation, assistance with personal care needs, transportation, and much more. Contact us online or by phone at 319-753-6270 today to learn more about how we can help foster senior independence while ensuring safety and quality of life for older loved ones.
