by Barry J. Jacobs, AARP
For family caregivers, making New Year’s resolutions doesn’t have to be the futile exercise of vowing to lose weight and then eating half a chocolate cake on January 3. It can be, as...
Nearly 55 million people worldwide are living with some form of dementia, while millions more are impacted as family and professional caregivers. When coping with some of the challenging behaviors which often come with a dementia diagnosis it’s important to remember how to prevent or appropriately respond to anger and aggression to...
The holidays are known for being a special time for family get-togethers to reconnect with loved ones and old friends. Many family caregivers, however, struggle between the lofty notion of bygone holidays recreated and the current reality of whether this is really in the best interest of their aging parent(s) – or frankly,...
Written by Lauren Langevin, Co-Owner, Home Instead Senior Care, North Dartmouth, MA
Would you leave a complete stranger alone in your home when you are not there? Of course not. Yet every day, family members allow complete strangers unsupervised access into their parents’ homes to provide in-home care services...
When families provide care for aging parents or relatives, it’s common for one child or family member to take on most of the responsibility. Sometimes this care is provided out of love, without expectation of payment. But in many cases, entering into a caregiver contract, also known as a personal care agreement,...
As we continue to watch the population of boomers explode over the next 10 years we are already observing the crunch of seniors finding professional as well as personal caregivers to help them through the senior years.
The month of November is known as National Family Caregiver month and we want to recognize all the wonderful things that caregivers do. Family caregivers provide care of their spouses, parents and/or grandparents. They also provide love and support to these individuals. Typically, they are not trained and sometimes have full time...
Most caregivers experience times when the fatigue and frustration of providing care for a loved one can border on caregiver burnout. Even though I’ve handled caring for multiple elders and their unique needs reasonably well, there have been moments when I’ve wondered how much longer I could keep it up.
If you’ve ever rushed from a parent’s doctor appointment to your child’s school event, you’re not alone. Millions of adults are caught in the middle—caring for aging parents while still supporting their own children. It’s a role filled with love and purpose, but it also comes with exhaustion, financial strain, and endless...
Although people are willing to voluntarily care for a parent or loved one without any promise of compensation, entering into a caregiver contract (also called personal service or personal care agreement) with a family member can have many benefits. It rewards the family member doing the work. It can help alleviate tension between family members by...
