The beginning of the year often marks a time when many adult children with elderly parents start looking for assistance to assist their parents in their day-to-day lives. This phenomenon often occurs because adult children have recently spent time with their families during the holidays and because New Year’s resolutions often make helping their parents find elder care a priority.
For some people, however, it’s harder to determine if an elderly parent requires assistance. It’s also hard to determine how much help they need. For anyone in such a situation there are a couple of pointers you may want to keep in mind.
Find a good geriatric care specialist.
Even if your parents get a yearly physical you should help your parents schedule an evaluation with a geriatric care physician. You should also try to accompany your parent to the geriatric assessment and ask the doctor about any concerns you have.
Work together as a team.
Transitioning from an independent life to one that requires regular elder care assistance is not something that many elderly people find easy to do. You need to realize that your parents have been independent for their entire lives and even bringing up the subject of elder care can be difficult for them. It’s sometimes a good idea to approach this topic by telling your parents about your own concerns and how you are willing to help. If there are specific problems you, your parent, and other family members can work on them together.
