Senior Care Issues Families Face
The issues outlined below impact the lives of seniors every day and are just a few of the reasons why families look to Home Instead Senior Care to meet their home care needs every day.
The "40-70 Rule"
Bridging the communication gap between adult children and their senior loved ones. Rate your communication skills by taking this assessment.
Time to Start Talking
The issues of aging often leave family caregivers speechless. That's because all sorts of potentially difficult situations arise as adults age. What does a grown daughter say to her dad when he's hit a light pole with the car? How does an adult son ask his mom if she's taking her medications like she should? And how do siblings approach their parents about needing more help at home? These issues can challenge even the family where communication is free and open. And when that happens, it's easier not to talk at all, which can lead to unresolved issues.
Talking sooner is better than waiting until a crisis has occurred. That's what the "40-70 Rule" is all about. This advice is designed to help adult children and their aging parents deal with those sensitive topics that often make conversations difficult. The idea is that if you're 40, or your parents are 70, it's time to start talking - at least about certain senior topics.
The "40-70 Rule" is based on original research conducted by Home Instead Senior Care, which discovered that nearly one-third of adults in the U.S. have a major communication obstacle with their parents that stems from continuation of the parent-child role. The fact that many seniors may still be dealing with their grown sons or daughters as if they're children rather than adults makes these conversations particularly difficult. If you're a Baby Boomer with aging parents, this informative 4070talk.com Web site is designed to help you start even the most difficult conversations with your senior loved ones, before a crisis has occurred and even after one already has happened.
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Night Fright
When the sun goes down, seniors' fears often take center stage. During the day, Alzheimer's related dementia regularly sends an 86-year-old woman into states of confusion. But at night, her situation worsens considerably. In the dark, she is terrified and often doesn't know where she is or whom she's with. Across the city, another woman about the same age also fears nights. It's then that she wonders who might know she's alone and if they'll break into her house and rob her.
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Running on Empty
New survey, Web data show dramatic toll of stress on those who provide home care for older adults. She awakens in the morning still exhausted after a fitful night of sleep and immediately feels overwhelmed. There's the report due at work today that she's not had time to prepare, afternoon soccer practice for her son and a school-board meeting that night. Then, somewhere in the brief free moments of her day, she must find time to care for her 84-year-old mom at home alone, who can't drive anymore or see well enough to take her correct dose of medication. There are no easy answers about how to fit her mom's senior care needs into the juggling act she calls a typical day.
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Caregiver Stress
Caring for an elderly family member can cause stress in the life of the caretaker. View the results of a survey from Caregiverstress.com and find out why it's important to tap into resources that can help.
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New Resource Can Help Identify Depression in Seniors
Home Instead Senior Care is finding that an increasing number of Baby Boomers and other grown children of seniors are looking for ways to help identify signs of depression in seniors.
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Depression in Seniors Can Lead to Illness, Diabetes
According to the April 23, 2007, issue of Archives of Internal Medicine (a JAMA/Archives journal), older adults who experience symptoms of depression - whether they have occurred only once; increased in frequency or intensity; or just remained steady over a 10-year period - may be more likely to develop diabetes than are those without depressive symptoms.
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Gardens Brighten Seniors' Lives
Rebecca's Garden star and Home Instead Senior Care make gardening fun for older adults.
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Use It Or Lose It
Home Instead Senior Care helps keep seniors' minds on the move.
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Blue Mood Be Gone
For seniors who suffer loneliness and depression, help is available.
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Senior Makeover Tips
Seniors can look and feel better from the outside in with a little help from Victoria Principal and Home Instead Senior Care.
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Spice it Up!
Food Network star Rachael Ray and Home Instead Senior Care say that cooking for older adults shouldn't be boring.
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Seniors Should Heed Home Safety Cautions
Most seniors enjoy keeping neat, clean houses. But as older adults become a bit less steady, they also can become less sure of their ability to continue cleaning.
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New Study Reveals Advantages of Senior Exercise
Though many of us can empathize with these senior adults, Home Instead Senior Care has found that an increasing pool of data spells out the inevitable fact that exercise is vital to the good health of seniors.
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Encourage Seniors to Pursue Their Favorite Pastimes
Here's the kinds of questions that a concerned adult child of senior parents might ask when he or she sees their activity levels diminishing.
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