How Should You Approach Your Senior about Helping Her More?
Knowing your aging adult needs extra help and figuring out how to talk to her about it are two entirely different subjects. If your senior isn’t open to the idea of having additional help, you might need to do some pre-planning for your conversation.
Figure out What She Needs Before the Talk
Do your best to determine ahead of time what your senior really needs from you and from others. Remember that what you see may not be something that she agrees with ultimately, but you do need to bring up genuine issues. Some of the things she might need help with could include meal preparation, running errands, or even having someone drive for her.
Seek out an Opportunity When You’re Both Relaxed
This type of conversation can get out of hand quickly when you or your aging adult are already on edge. The best solution for this is to do what you can to take advantage of opportunities to talk when you and your senior are both relaxed and feeling open to talking. If you’re in doubt, try simply asking her if she’s willing to sit down for a bit.
Ask Her What She Wants
When you do sit down for a conversation, ask your senior what she wants and needs. Listen carefully to what she has to say and look for comparisons with what you’ve noticed. Your senior’s perspective can help you to fine-tune what it is that she needs and the amount of help that she is finally willing to accept.
Persistence Can Pay Off
If your senior abandons the conversation or tells you she doesn’t want to talk about this at all, that’s not the end of the world. Her safety is the primary concern, of course, so you need to take action on anything that affects her personal safety right away. Revisit the conversation the next tie that it feels as if your senior might be receptive.
The amount of help that your senior actually needs could be somewhere in between what you think is the right level and what she thinks is accurate. The beauty of having senior care providers available to help is that they can help you to find that right balance.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering Senior Care in Suwanee GA, please contact the caring staff at Sustained Hope Home Care today. Call us at 1-866-4.1.TO.CARE (1-866-418-6227).
