Does Your Senior Need Help with Routines?
August 31, 2020
Routines can give your senior a framework to lean on, but they also help you as her caregiver. You’re both able to rely on what happens next without a lot of pressure or drama for the most part. Establishing those routines may take some thought.
Activity Routines Are Necessary
Activity routines help you to ease your elderly family member into and out of activities that she wants to do or needs to do. Things like exercising, going to classes, or engaging in hobbies could all be part of the activity routines that you establish with your senior. These involve preparing for the activity itself and then engaging in it for as long as you’re able, following up with easing your senior back out of that activity and into the next part of the day. This is especially important if your elderly family member has cognitive challenges, because it can be difficult to transition from one mode to another.
Meal Routines Are Important
Routines for meals helps to ensure that your elderly family member is eating consistently and around the same times every day. This can be especially important if your elderly family member forgets to eat or if she needs extra help while she’s eating. These routines can also involve when you plan menus together for the week or even preparing the meals themselves.
Routines Also Need Breaks
Something else to remember is that sometimes routines need to be broken up a bit. The routine itself may still be working for your elderly family member, but she may need to have something else in its place for a little while. Having room for spontaneity and for special adventures can be something that adds a lot of joy to your senior’s life and to caregiving.
Get Some Help Staying on Target with Routines
Keeping yourself and your senior on target can feel impossible sometimes. One of the things that can help is having someone else who can assist. Home care providers can work with you to help you to establish routines that give your senior what she needs and that also give you what you need. They can even ensure that one of your routines is to take regular respite time.
Being a caregiver involves a lot of planning and thinking ahead. Routines help you to keep all those plans moving smoothly, even when life feels like it’s getting away from you.
If you or your loved one is looking for a Caregiver in Belmont, CA, please call Familiar Surroundings Home Care.
Santa Clara County: (408) 979-9990
San Mateo County: (650) 353-9777
Santa Cruz County: (831) 480-3990