A goal that my clients bring up in meetings time after time is that they wish to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. Many people, however, find the cost of bringing help into their homes to be daunting. Elders are increasingly turning to their adult children for in-home care. As...
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Thrown into the Deep End
Did you see Michelle Singletary’s column this weekend in the Boston Globe? I like her column, The Color of Money. She writes in a straight-forward, honest manner, with guidance targeted at “regular folks” like myself.
This weekend she wrote about essentially being thrown into the deep end of the...
More Reasons to Write up a Caregiver Contract
I've been writing a lot about caregiver contracts lately. That's because they represent the ideal solution for so many families.
Many children become part-time or even full-time caregivers for their aging parents. Sometimes a child needs to be paid for this - usually that is the only way she can afford to leave her...
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Paying Your Children to Care for You? Put it in Writing.
As they need more help with daily tasks, many parents prefer to have their kids helping them rather than hiring an aide. And many children want to be helping their parents, if only they could afford to quit their job.
One solution is for the parent to hire the child. I discuss...
Always Keep Time & Expense Records When Helping Another
So many children, nieces and nephews, and good neighbors pitch in to do heavy lifting for an aging or disabled family member or friend. You may be running errands, cleaning out a basement, doing weekly grocery trips. We do these things on a volunteer basis, usually receiving just reimbursement for purchases made. And...
Caregiver: Care for Yourself, Too
Caregiver burnout is a dangerous side-effect of dedicating your time and energies to the care of a loved one. All the physical activity, combined with the worry, isolation, and frustration, make for a dangerous recipe. Families frequently come to me when Mom got sick from the exhaustion of caring for Dad. Another common scenario...
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HBO’s The Alzheimer’s Project: Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?
This weekend I watched the film on grandchildren caring for grandparents with Alzheimer’s. I was floored by the patience and persistence these kids displayed.
One theme that the film highlighted with “staying in the moment.” This is something we all did as kids (remember focusing on a ladybug crawling up a blade...
HBO’s The Alzheimer’s Project: Caregivers
This weekend I watched the film Caregivers (don’t you just love On Demand?). One theme that jumped out was the isolation that caregivers suffer. Several of the film’s stars (I think that’s a good name for them) talked about how very quietly the invitations to events and gatherings stopped. Not only does...
Is Your Home Care Agency Appropriate for Alzheimer’s Care?
We are lucky on the South Shore to have so many agencies supporting seniors who continue to live at home. Among these are home care agencies, which are the companies that provide home health aides and companions. If you are considering a home care agency to care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, look...
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Caregiver Stress Check Quiz
If you are a caregiver for a person with Alzheimer’s or any other debilitating disease, take a look at the National Alzheimer’s Association’s Caregiver Stress Check. It’s very well done. Based on the issues you check off (ex., you feel like you are doing everything yourself with no backup, you think that your...
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