If you’re managing the majority of care for your aging parents while your siblings remain uninvolved, you’re not alone. Caregiving can be a lonely journey, and many family caregivers find themselves carrying the burden without much help from other family members. In fact, a recent AARP report revealed that 50 percent of family caregivers are providing care alone. Understanding why this is such a common occurrence—and how to protect your…
Insights and Tips for Enhancing Care at Home
How Elder Mediation for Families Can Help Resolve Conflicts
When you’re working together to make sure the needs of your older parents are satisfied, even the closest siblings could find themselves in contradiction. Stress and emotions are, obviously, running high. Add to that your past family dynamics and history, which have a tendency to resurface in the midst of challenging times, and it’s easy to see how problematic this phase in life can be for each of you.
Mom’s Coming Home from the Hospital: Can We Handle Her Home Care Alone?
Your 90-year-old mother, who has been living independently, recently experienced a fall that resulted in a cracked pelvis. After spending time in the hospital, she is finally coming home from the hospital today. As you quickly go over her release paperwork, you begin to feel a wave of anxiety wash over you. The list of responsibilities is long and daunting: picking up prescriptions, arranging transportation for physical therapy sessions, scheduling…
How to Overcome the Stigma Surrounding Mental Health in Aging Parents
Mental health awareness is crucial at every stage of life, but it takes on added significance as our parents grow older. For many older adults, discussing mental health can be particularly challenging due to deep-seated stigmas and the values they were raised with. It’s important to understand why older loved ones are often reluctant to talk about mental health, and recognizing the signs that they might be struggling can help…
Older Adults and Substance Abuse: Could Your Parent Be at Risk?
10 Time Management Tips for Family Caregivers
The Appropriate Steps for Transferring a Senior
The statistics are indeed alarming: more than half of all caregivers report injuries resulting from lifting or transferring older individuals. So many family members eventually assume the role of a caregiver, so it’s important to know the best safety measures for transferring a senior to ensure both your well-being and that of the person you care for.
Safe and Effective Tips for Lifting a Senior
Taking care of an older family member often means that you’ll be helping them move around the house, getting in and out of chairs and the bed, or even going to and from the bathroom. Handling these tasks incorrectly can pose a significant risk of injury to both you and the person you love, making it vitally important to know proper techniques for lifting a senior.
Noticing Signs of Senior Hearing Problems? These Tips Can Help!
“Can you repeat that for me?” “I’m sorry. One more time, dear?” “Excuse me – what did you say?” If you hear these phrases a lot while talking to an older adult with hearing problems, you’re not alone. The National Institute on Aging reports a strong link between aging and hearing loss, with as many as half of all individuals age 75 and older encountering senior hearing problems. Senior hearing…
Staying Active to Manage Parkinson’s Symptoms
It’s beneficial for any older adult to stay active as they age, but especially for those with Parkinson’s, exercise could have a great impact on managing Parkinson’s symptoms. Several studies are uncovering direct links between physical exercise and Parkinson’s symptom management. In the largest clinical study to date, patients who exercised no less than 2½ hours per week gained a greater total wellbeing compared to those who refrained from physical…