Tips for Caregivers
Q: Caregiver burnout is common around stressful holidays, try these tips to stay healthy and happy this holiday season!
A: Holiday preparations can be overwhelming for caregivers of family members. Many caregivers wish to hold on to holiday traditions, but their old traditions don't always fit with new realities. Experienced caregivers offer the following suggestions to help you and your family keep the holiday without the hassle.
- Invite guests to the home of the care receiver so that he or she will be comfortable and not have to be taken out.
- Suggest a potluck meal or ask guests to take responsibility for preparing a meal. Make clean-up easy by using festive paper plates and cups.
- Keep the number of guests manageable. Noise and hectic activity can be difficult for a person who is frail or confused.
- Talk to family and friends before they arrive. If the care receiver is confused, has trouble eating or has any behaviors that guests might not understand, explain the circumstances to them and tell them how to approach the situation.
- Take the hassle out of gift giving. Consider giving a gift of love such as an offer to reserve conversation time with a friend or a promise to attend a grandchild's school play. Caregivers who wish to purchase gifts should consider giving one gift per family, mail-ordering purchases or asking a neighbor or friend to help with shopping.
- IIf guests ask what they can bring, suggest gifts that really will help -- frozen prepared foods, an IOU for caregiving that offers you respite time, a trip to the beauty or barber shop for your care receiver, or an offer to run specific errands.
If you are a long distance caregiver, take the opportunity during the holidays to evaluate how your loved one is functioning on a day-to-day basis. Health professionals suggest using the Activities of Daily Living checklist that includes skills related to feeding, dressing, bathing, moving from a bed to a chair, toileting, and walking. If problems are evident in any of these areas, take steps to address them with a health professional and other family members. Early detection of problems in any of these can be helpful in securing the appropriate assistance.