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How Siblings Can Support The Family Caregiver

June is National Family Month and it’s a great time for siblings of family caregivers to step up to the plate and do whatever they can to help the sibling that is caring for a senior parent. Home Care Services should be considered. Maybe there’s only one sibling that lives close enough to your senior parent to be a caregiver. Or maybe only one sibling was in the position to be able to step in and provide care for your senior loved one. But regardless of the reason why one sibling is taking on the bulk of the work of caregiving the rest of the siblings should be doing everything they can to support that sibling. That’s how you will remain strong as a family.

Home Care Services Lafayette CO: Family Caregiver Support

Some of the things that siblings can do to help a family caregiver are:

Home Care Services

Getting home care assistance for your senior parent can really help a family caregiver. With home care assistance the sibling providing care will be able to take time off if they need it. They can also stop worrying about things like meal preparation, shopping, housework, and medication management because a care provider can handle all of those things. Home care assistance for seniors can ensure that your sibling who is providing care for your senior parent can still take care of their own needs without endangering your senior parent.

Financial Support

If all of the siblings pitch in to help pay for the things that your senior parent needs that will take a lot of stress off of a family caregiver. They won’t have to worry about paying for gas and parking when they take your senior loved one to the doctor or shopping. And they will have an emergency fund they can draw from to pay for things like ambulance rides or emergency supplies if they need to. Financial support can also mean taking over your senior parent’s finances if you have a degree in finance or you are good at creating household budgets.

Emotional Support

Caregiving isn’t always easy. Even when you have a sibling that really wants to take care of your parent there will be days when they are struggling with the weight of the responsibilities and stresses associated with caring for a senior parent. The best thing you can do for your sibling is listen when they are stressed out and need someone to talk with. You can also help them find a great counselor that will help them deal with the trauma of caring for a very sick or dying parent.

Visit

And the most important thing that you can do is to visit whenever you are able to. Finances and schedules may not permit you to visit every few weeks, but visiting as often as you can will mean the world to your senior parent and to your sibling that is caring for them. Visitors are a breath of fresh air and also give family caregivers the chance for a break.