It’s usually not a secret for family caregivers that a senior doesn’t want help. What can be somewhat of a mystery is why. You would want help, so it takes a bit of detective work at times to figure out why your senior doesn’t.
Ask Lots of Questions
You need to ask questions that allow your senior to get to the root of her objections. Open-ended questions allow your elderly family member to expand a bit on what she wants you to know. Anything that gives you just a “yes” or a “no” doesn’t give you enough information to understand her position.
Listen to What She Says and What She Doesn’t Say
Hopefully, as she’s answering your questions she’s sharing her feelings with you. But you can also start to get information from what she doesn’t say. For instance, she might share with you that other people make her nervous, but not why. In between what she actually says can be the full answer.
Get Deeper with Your Questions
As you start to feel more like you have a handle on the true situation, get deeper with your questions. Your elderly family member might be worried about her privacy or about whether she’s going to lose her independence by accepting this help. As you understand more about this, you can start to drill down to the right questions.
Offer Lots of Different Options
The idea with hiring senior care providers is to make your elderly family member’s life easier, of course. But she may not see it that way. Offering her a variety of options can be a crucial part of convincing her to accept this process. Perhaps they only arrive on certain days or there’s a time limit for the week. That can help her to choose the option she’s most comfortable with right now.
Be Patient While She Comes Around
Your senior’s perception of home care can change after she has some positive experiences with what it can do for her. You might need to exercise some patience while your elderly family member comes around to the idea. This can take a shorter amount of time than you think, but patience is definitely the key.
When safety is your chief concern, you might have to come to some early compromises with your aging family member. This might mean that you hire senior care providers to help out in ways that are acceptable to both you and your aging adult and then expand their duties later. This can help your elderly family member to get over lingering objections, especially after she sees the benefits.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elderly Care in Marina Del Ray, CA, please call Mom's Home Care and talk to our friendly, knowledgeable staff.
Our number is 323-244-4789
