What Can You Do if Your Elderly Loved One Won't Accept Outside Help?

Senior-Care-in-Lake-Forest-IL

Senior Care in Lake Forest IL: What Can You Do if Your Elderly Loved One Won’t Accept Outside Help?

It can be really frustrating for your elderly loved one to resist the idea of hiring senior care providers to help out. Figuring out how to work around that objection is important because in-home care providers are a solid tool for you to have in your toolbox.

Respect that Outside Help Can Feel Intimidating to Your Loved One

The idea of having outside help coming in can be an intimidating one to your elderly loved one. It can be a signal to her that she’s in need of more constant care, which is not a comfortable feeling. Your elderly loved one may see this as yet one more sign that her life is changing and that she’s losing some or all of her independence.

Set up a Trial Run First

One immediate step you can take that can set your loved one’s mind at ease is to let her know that this is a trial run. If this is something that is set in stone right away, your loved one might start to feel as if she has no say in this situation and no control over what happens. Having the knowledge that this is a trial and not permanent can help greatly.

Listen to Your Loved One’s Complaints

If your loved one does bring you complaints about her care providers, don’t discount what she’s saying completely. This can make her feel that you didn’t mean it when you let her know that you wanted her input. Even if you know that your loved one is making up excuses to get rid of her senior care providers, hear her out.

Let Your Loved One Know this Is about Getting Your Loved One the Best Care Possible

The best thing to do is to let your loved one know that what this is really about is making sure that she’s in good hands, even if you’re not able to be there yourself. It’s possible that your loved one hasn’t looked at the situation from that point of view. Once she has a better understanding of why you’re insisting that she try this, she may feel more open to the idea.

You may find that gradually your elderly loved one becomes much more open to the idea of having outside caregivers in to help her.

If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Lake Forest, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.

Jamie Shapiro