Bringing your aging parents into your home to live out their final years can be both a blessing and a curse. While you love having them around, the constantly increasing level of care they require can become overwhelming if you aren't prepared. You must make sure that your parents will have everything they need to live comfortably. By the same token, you have to learn to care for yourself in the process so you can be there when they need you the most.

Here are some things you should keep in mind while taking care of your aging parents at home:

Understand How Much Care They Need

When providing care for seniors at home, you must determine how much care they need. Create a list of daily, weekly, and monthly care services to understand how much care they need during the day, night, and weekends. You can also have a notepad and make quick notes every time you assist your elderly parents with any tasks.

Determine How Much Care You Can Provide Without Assistance

After finding how much care they need, determine how much care you can provide on your own and what you need help with. Remember, if you do all tasks by yourself, you can burn out quicker and be unable to provide high-quality care to your loved one.

Seek Help for Caregiving

While finding caregiving help might cost you time and money, it will help you take regular breaks and reduce your workload and stress. You can get help from family members, in-home care services, respite care services, friends, or elderly care services.

Share the Responsibility

Though you provide comprehensive care for seniors at home, ask your siblings or relatives if they can share the caregiving responsibility so you can take short breaks in between.

Reduce Financial Pressure

Providing care for seniors at home might cause a financial burden. However, following these steps can help reduce caregiving costs.

• Find private and government benefit programs that cover caregiving costs
• Talk with an attorney concerning the pros and cons of spending down to qualify for Medicaid
• Get paid for helping in-home elderly care services

Patience Is A Virtue

As your parents get older, they may begin to move more slowly or forget what they are doing. Depending on the state of the health, they may begin to lose strength. Learn to be a guiding hand and reassure them that things are going to be okay.

Schedule Everything

Make a schedule for everything ranging from when they take their medication to making time for exercise. When you have a busy schedule, it's easy to make sure everything gets done if you follow a routine. This will ensure that your parents get their medications when they need them as well as a few minutes of activity each day for every member of the family.

Following these tips for taking care of your elderly parents and learning what will work best for you and your family will make having your aging parents living in your home go much smoother and will allow you to enjoy the time you spend with them.

If you are looking for 24 hour home care in Newport Beach, CA, contact us and we will help you create a custom home care plan for your loved ones.