If ever you face a situation when a loved one needs help at home, the process of convincing him or her to accept such help is a difficult one. Most elderly people love to be independent, no matter how difficult it is for them to maintain it. To bring in a caregiver for home care who will be assisting in such intimate activities such as bathing and dressing is therefore a problem. But with the population living longer than ever before, the problem children of elderly parents and relatives face is that there is just not enough time to invest in taking care of the loved one. There is really no option- a live in-home caregiver is a fair idea.
If you are facing a similar predicament and finding it hard to convince an elderly person that he or she needs home care, it is a good idea to use the "humor me" approach. Gently pushing ahead and making the senior person understand that he is being subjected to care only because it would please you, is a tactic that works almost all the time.
Choosing life as a caregiver for an elderly person is quite a risk, considering the high rate of crimes this category of caregivers is involved in each year. Financial abuse is something that affects thousands of elderly seniors in American society. A lot of vigilance needs to be kept on workers who work unsupervised for long hours with only an elderly person for the company.
Choosing a live-in caregiver is a challenge, to say the least. A lot of people worry about ongoing home care as it involves quite a lot of money, sometimes going up to as much as $21 per hour. Though there are home care agencies who deal with the task of finding the right home caregivers for clients, a lot of people depend on internet advertising and newspapers. Why? Because they cost a lot less. But is that the right thing to do? When you use a home care agency to find a worker for the senior person at your house, you can be sure that you are getting to hire someone who not only has the credentials but also someone on whom a thorough background check has been done. It is a good idea to choose someone who has undergone a national criminal record search and come out positive.
Make sure that you get to have a look at the live-in caregiver's references before hiring. This is important, because if the worker steals, you may actually end up losing a lot of money, as your insurance may or may not cover the loss.
Finally, do your research as thoroughly as you can. A good idea is to take leave from work for a couple of days after hiring the caregiver and keep an eye on how he or she performs. It will help you understand whether you have made the right choice or not.
