5 Tips for a New Family Caregiver

By Marlene Diaz | May 26, 2017 |

If you’re a new family caregiver, you might find yourself feeling intimidated by the entire experience already. These tips can help you and your loved one to get off to a good start on your caregiving journey.

Caregiver Federal Way WA – 5 Tips for a New Family Caregiver

Focus on Safety Above All Else

The biggest task that faces any family caregiver is safety. You’ll need to do a full safety check of your loved one’s home. The more that you can correct and adjust for her that keeps her safer, the better overall for your elderly loved one.

Ask Your Loved One for Feedback

You’re there to help your elderly loved one, so be sure to ask her for her feedback. What could you be doing more of for her? What does she need that you’re not doing? If you’re asking her for feedback regularly, you can start to learn how to anticipate her needs and correct issues before they become problems.

You’re Going to Have Unexpected Situations

No matter how well you plan or what you learn about caregiving, you’re going to encounter unexpected situations and issues. How you manage those unexpected situations is what really matters. Don’t panic and don’t try to solve every problem on your own. There are agencies and people who can help.

Don’t Argue

Some family caregivers feel that they know what’s best for their elderly loved one, no matter what. This can mean that they start to lock horns with their elderly loved one. Don’t let that happen to you and your loved one. Avoid arguing with her and do your best to keep things smooth.

Line up Help from the Start

The more help that you line up from the very beginning, the better your caregiving journey will start out. Talk to your loved one’s doctor about agencies that can help. Look for caregiver support groups so that you can learn as much as possible about caregiving. Talk to family members about helping out. Consider hiring home care providers to help out, too. You’ll need a lot of help as a family caregiver, so start out with as much of it as you can.

As you gain experience, you’ll find all sorts of ways to help your elderly loved one.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Caregiver Services in Federal Way WA, contact the caring staff at Hospitality Home Care today. Call us at (206) 966-6552.

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Marlene Diaz

Care Supervisor at Hospitality Home Care

Marlene brings to Hospitality Home Care's Care Supervisor Team an unprecedented level of passion for caring for others and a wealth of knowledge and understanding in the care services field. Marlene has worked in the healthcare field for more than 15 years in a variety of settings including, adult family home administration, home care HR supervising and working with specialty populations including dementia, mental health and developmental disabilities. Throughout this time Marlene has also maintained her caregiver credentials that she obtained as a teenager because, while her knowledge is best served helping to train caregivers and assist families to get the care they need, her heart is most fulfilled when she is providing care to others. When she is not in the office, you will most likely find Marlene caring for her family, or spending time with her friends.