When deciding to move your elderly mother or father into your home, finances probably aren’t your primary reason for doing it, but they will play a role once the move has taken place. Understanding both the pros and cons before hand will alleviate any unpleasant surprises on all sides, and make the experience a much more enjoyable one where no decisions are regretted!

Pros:

• Living expenses (utilities, mortgage etc) don’t increase significantly when just one person is added to the home, but having another person to contribute to these bills can reduce the home owner’s costs!

• With taxes, families might be able to receive a deduction for having an additional dependant in their home

• Household items, like food, might be bought in bulk to save more money

• Any assets from the sales of the seniors home can be invested

Cons:

• Depending upon future care needs, one or more members of the household might need to take time off work, or hire additional senior care assistance

• Seniors may lose tax deductions once they’re no longer a home owner and other factors regarding capital gain may apply

Home Instead Senior Care serving elders and seniors in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga home care - 408-370-6360.

All caregivers deal with stress, and often so much of it that it becomes part of their regular lives. While some level of stress comes with the territory, it doesn’t need to be so overwhelming all the time. Here are 10 survival tips that all caregivers should know:

1. Take care of yourself with diet and exercise – eat well throughout the day, and no matter how busy you are, don’t skip meals, otherwise your energy levels will drop. Exercise at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes, and pick something that you enjoy doing (walking, biking, aerobics class)

2. Walk away – you won’t walk away permanently from your care responsibilities, but you can take a step back when you need to. Take a break, even if just for a few minutes, or have someone else step in to provide respite care

3. Seek help – 72% of caregivers refuse to receive outside help with their responsibilities; don’t be one of them. Ask a family member to step in and help, or hire a professional home caregiver to give you a break. Also, don’t be afraid to lean on others when you’re stressed, even if it means joining a support group

4. Spoil yourself – reward yourself for all of your hard work, once a week or once a month, go get a massage, have a manicure, go to a movie, or take a hot bath with a glass of wine. Do something that helps you rejuvenate!

5. Don’t neglect your health – remember to get yourself to the doctor regularly, especially if you’re feeling ill. You’ll be better help to a senior when you’re in one piece!

Via: Caregiver Stress

Home Instead Senior Care serving elders and seniors in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga home care - 408-370-6360.

National Family Caregiver’s Month is a time to appreciate all of those out there who make sacrifices and give so much of themselves to care for the other important people in their lives – often, their senior parents or other elderly relatives. The following gestures below can help them to celebrate a job well done!

1. Give them a break – offering to provide respite care or hiring someone to step in can allow caregivers to relax or reconnect with friends and family

2. Remind local businesses what this month means – then encourage them to offer freebies or discounts for family caregivers in the area!

3. Lend them a hand with holiday preparations – the holidays can create added responsibility, so help a caregiver decorate for the holidays or put stamps on their cards

4. Get them laughing – go see a funny movie with them, or pick up tickets to a local comedy club. Laugher IS the best medicine!

5. Take over holiday hosting responsibilities – caregivers already have a lot on their plates; host Thanksgiving, Christmas, or another holiday celebration so the caregiver can simply focus on enjoying the company!

6. Sign the petition – there’s a petition to establish a stamp that recognizes family caregivers; sign it in their honor!

7. Create something personal – a personalized gift, like a calendar with family photos, will help them feel like they’re appreciated, and it will help them stay organized

8. Send them a token of appreciation – a bouquet of flowers or a card might not be a big gesture, but it will make caregivers feel appreciated and special

9. Connect them with caregiving resources – free seminars and other events take place to keep caregivers better informed and help them manage stress

10. Lend your support – give them an ear to talk to, or help them find a support group

Via: The Family Caregiver

Home Instead Senior Care serving elders and seniors in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga home care - 408-370-6360.

Often caregivers who have a lot on their plates, still want to increase their opportunities to learn. Whether it’s about things that concern their careers, their home lives or their caregiving responsibilities; reading through necessary documentation can be a time consuming project that’s hard to find time for. In order to address this challenge, caregivers can increase their reading speed by trying out the following tips and techniques:

1. Learn active reading – often when reading our minds drift away and we’re not totally engaged in what’s in front of us on the pages. Try to more actively engage your mind by taking notes, doodling keywords or underlining key words in passages. This will also help to engage your memory

2. Try a reading software – software programs like EyeQ teach you how to physically read faster by helping you learn how to move your eyes back and forth more quickly when reading

3. Try a technique called Photoreading – if you’re reading for the sake of gathering specific information alone from a document, you can increase your reading speed with this technique which teaches you to focus on what you want to get out of the book or document

Sources:

1. Gaia

2. Nina Potter

Home Instead Senior Care serving elders and seniors in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga home care - 408-370-6360.

Each and every day that goes by, you might feel like you just haven’t accomplished everything you wanted to and that’s because 24 hours in a day just isn’t always enough. While we can’t increase the number of hours in the day, we would like to help you make the most out of the hours that you do have in everyday so you can increase your productivity and accomplish your goals. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be discussing the below points and providing you strategies to make your 24 hour days seem longer:

1. Sleeping for productivity

2. Eating your way to a 36 hour day

3. Learning to multi-task effectively

4. Organizing your way to success

5. Learning how to get it done faster

6. Learning while multi-tasking in your free time

7. Using technology to increase productivity

8. Turning off

9. Asking for help

Via: Gaia.com

Home Instead Senior Care serving elders and seniors in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga home care - 408-370-6360.

Often we have family members of elderly San Jose parents and relatives that contact our offices because they have recognized that senior care assistance is needed otherwise health or safety might be compromised. However, they know that the first hurdle will be to convince their loved ones to see things the same way, when they’re already worried about losing independence. Here are a few suggestions that we make to loved ones who believe it’s time for senior care, that way they can approach their parents about accepting help:

1. Remember change is difficult for everyone – their resistance might be frustrating, but think about how you would feel in the same situation
2. Give him/her time to come around – introduce changes slowly, but don’t force them. Eventually, the changes if for your senior’s benefit will be more accepted, once they get past denying they need help
3. Keep on trying – if you try to introduce a change and it’s not accepted, wait and try again. Sometimes even 15 minutes can make a world of difference
4. Keep them involved in decisions – let your senior know he/she does have a say in making decisions about care. However, do try and be persuasive about introducing care options
5. Offer a trial period – if they are resistant, persuade your senior to give your suggestion a try. A trial period with a home caregiver or with you helping around the house may help them to realize how much it can ease their burden
6. Present it as help for them – when suggesting you help them out or hire a caregiver, don’t present it as a result of their limitations, tell them it’s to have someone available to clean up around the house so they don’t feel obligated, or to help with moving of heavy objects
7. Know when to stop pushing – remember, that despite your concerns, your senior is still someone who is capable and allowed to make their own decisions. If you have tried the above to no avail, no when to stop pushing otherwise you might risk your relationship

Via: National Caregiver’s Library

Image: jupiterimages.com

Home Instead Senior Care serving elders and seniors in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga home care - 408-370-6360.

When my family decided to move my mother into our San Jose home, we knew it would bring changes to the household and that it would probably be stressful since we hadn’t lived under the same roof since I was 18 years old. After talking about the fact that grandma was coming to live with us with my young children, my 4 year old daughter came to me in asked “Is Grandma going to be like our new mother?” Although I explained to my children that nothing would change in terms of the roles in our family, I had to take a big step back and wonder if this would in fact be true. I could foresee some serious problems in the future with my mom overstepping her boundaries in our household, so I talked to a San Jose doctor who treats seniors primarily. He presented the following tips, which we certainly kept in mind when bringing my mom and our children’s grandma into the home to ensure that we didn’t have any tension. I’d recommend these tips to anyone, although I will give you one warning – some tension will still occur despite your best efforts, but I’ve been told and keep telling myself that this is normal when there’s too many adults living newly under the same roof!

• All members of the family should be allowed to voice their thoughts – even after a decision has been made to move in mom or dad, every member of the family, including children should be allowed to speak their minds and make suggestions on how to make the living arrangements work for everyone
• Define roles and set expectations – all family members living under the same roof should have their roles defined in advance and should know what to expect of the changes that will be occurring
• Ask for help – when adult caregivers live with their elderly care recipients, they can feel like they’re overwhelmed with responsibility that they can never get away from; ask other siblings or family members to step in to provide respite care or help around the house
• Focus on family – establish family rituals that bridge the generational gap between all of the family members. Plan a movie night, or a family dinner so that everyone can bond over a shared enjoyable experience

Via: Home Instead Senior Care

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Call Home Instead Senior Care serving elders in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga when seeking help for your aging parents - 408-370-6360.

Q – My father was recently diagnosed with dementia. While we all saw it coming in a way, it has come as a shock, especially for him. What can we do to help keep him in positive spirits and cope with the emotional aspects that come with such a diagnosis?

A – While you may have suspected a diagnosis like dementia in your father’s future, actually hearing the words and having your fears reinforced can be shocking for everyone.

At this stage, your father may feel as though his mind and body are letting him down, and he may fear an inevitable loss of independence. In the early stages, your father should seek support from the San Jose community groups for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, and learn as much about his condition as possible. Planning early on for the future can also help ensure that his wishes with regards to care and medical treatment are met, if he reaches the point where he is able to voice what he wants.

Encourage your father to create a living will, appoint a future Power of Attorney, and generally get his affairs in order. By researching care options in San Jose, he can choose the best fit for him if it’s needed in the future. Encourage him to maintain his lifestyle, but refrain from activities that are too stressful or demanding.

Sources:

1. Alzheimer’s Society UK

2. DementiaGuide.com

Image Source - it.dreamstime.com

Call Home Instead Senior Care serving elders in San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara and Saratoga when seeking help for your aging parents - 408-370-6360.