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Balancing Work, Children, and Senior Home Care as a Family Caregiver

If you're a caregiver dealing with working, children, and senior home care, how do you balance everything without suffering from burnout?
Family Caregivers: Senior Home Care Ridgewood NJ
Family Caregivers: Senior Home Care Ridgewood NJ

Sandwich generation caregivers fill several roles, and it can seem daunting. You’re way too young to retire, so you have to work full-time, but you also have children at home still. Your dad has been diagnosed with dementia, so he needs you, too.

You work 40 hours a week. You have to help your kids with homework and support them in their extracurricular activities. Plus, you must bring your dad to his variety of appointments. How do you have any time for yourself? Would senior home care help alleviate the stress? How do you balance everything without burning out?

Talk to Your Family

It’s time to gather your siblings, close cousins, and any other family members who help your dad out. They need to chip in just as much time as you do. They may think they can’t, but every little task they can do can be a huge relief.

For example, your brother lives in another town and figures he’s of no help. He could take over paying your dad’s bills on time, ordering his prescription refills, and researching insurance rates. That takes a lot of pressure off you. If it becomes more stressful to work out a schedule with everyone, talk to your family about hiring senior home care for your dad.

Tell Your Boss

Make sure your boss or HR department is aware of the fact that you’re a family caregiver. The earlier they’re aware of your situation, the easier it is for them to grant FMLA leave if you need it. Plus, it can help them have a plan in place if you suddenly need a day off or have an upcoming business trip that you couldn’t possibly attend.

Build a Schedule of Care

Use a calendar tool or online spreadsheet like Google Sheets to plan out a daily, weekly, and monthly to-do list. As people complete something, they can go in and mark it complete. Use drop-down menu tools with everyone’s name to make it easy to designate who is doing what.

Arrange Automatic Payments and Refills

If possible, set up some of your dad’s bills to be paid automatically. If he uses streaming services like Hulu, you might be able to pay for an entire year at once. Prescription refills could be set to automatically renew and get delivered to his door.

Take Time Off

Take time off to unwind. If you’ve gone several months without a day off, you’re overdue for self-care. Send your kids to a friend’s house for the weekend, order your favorite takeout, and have a carefree weekend to yourself.

Schedule Senior Home Care Aides, Too

Make sure you have senior home care aides scheduled to help throughout the week. If there is a caregiver stopping by to do the laundry, change the sheets, and do the housework, it frees up your time. The more you can reassign to others, the easier it is for you.

Talk to a senior home care specialist about your dad’s home life and situation. You’ll learn more about the availability of services and the prices during this call.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care in Ridgewood, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Applause Home Care today. Call (201) 326-8051

Applause Home Care provides independent, non-franchised quality Home Care for elders and families in and around Fort Lee, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Paramus, Glen Rock, Pompton Plains, Franklin Lakes, Westwood, Montvale, and Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Jim Prussak

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