It can be hard for family caregivers to balance everything on their to-do list with caring for their aging senior loved ones. Add in the stress of the holiday season, and that task can sometimes seem almost impossible. Sometimes, that means forgoing some of their favorite activities or holiday celebrations because they don’t want to leave mom or dad at night or for an extended period of time. That is where Respite Care can help. Respite Care offers temporary relief from trusted, trained and compassionate homecare workers. Here are some ways it can help seniors and their families.

What Does Respite Care Entail?

At Right at Home, we view Respite Care as a way to give family caregivers time to rest and renew their spirit. It allows them some relief so they can step away to care for themselves and recharge, whether that means going out for a coffee date with friends, taking a nap or a weekend getaway.  Respite Care is short-term relief provided by a trained caregiver for families on their caregiving journeys. With the service, a caregiver can come into the home to offer companionship for seniors when you are away for a larger amount of time than you might usually be. They also can come in and simply help exhausted caregivers who need a break, even if the family member just decides to sit on the patio and enjoy a cup of tea while they are nearby but not actively providing care at the time. Respite Care can be available for a few hours at a time, for one day each week, or even for an extended period of time on a temporary basis. Whatever kind of break the primary family caregiver needs, a schedule can be worked out to help.

Helping Relationships

While some devoted family caregivers might feel as if they are being selfish using Respite Care, it actually can help the relationship you have with your senior loved one and be healthier for both of you. It might seem like Respite Care is mainly for the benefit of the primary family caregivers, but in fact, it can help both the aging senior and their family members. Time away, even a brief period of time, away from an aging senior loved one can be good for both of you. Many times, caregivers get so caught up in being a caregiver and ensuring their senior is okay that they lose sight of the relationship they used to have with their loved one. It can soon transform mainly into caregiving. With so much invested, it is easy to get frustrated or annoyed if caregivers now feel they are constantly on their relatives to take their medicine or not walk up the stairs without supervision. Maybe family caregivers have grown weary of hearing the same story over and over again and can become short or not pay close attention the 10th time they’ve heard it. Spending some time away to refresh can help the relationship.  Family members can return with a renewed and more patient spirit. Having a trained professional relieve primary family caregivers, even for a short time, can help them focus on what is truly important. It also can give seniors someone new to tell their stories to, as well as new stories to tell about what happened during the time away.

Time to Focus on Enjoyment

It is easy to cast aside the things you used to enjoy to care for a senior loved one. After all, they are important to you, and you would do anything for them. But living without the things you love - such as coffee with your friends or a golf game with buddies on an unseasonably warm day, can take its toll. When your life is consumed by caring for your senior loved one, you can lose a part of yourself. It is common for family caregivers to stop seeing friends or doing things that they used to love because they feel like they just don’t have the time or energy. Eventually, living like that can build resentment toward your senior loved one. Respite Care can help return some of that enjoyment.

During the holiday season, you can use a Respite Care worker so that you can head to Lambeau Field and get into the Christmas spirit at the Festival of Lights on December 2. You can also use the time to decorate your own home so you feel happier during the holiday season with twinkling lights and a cozy atmosphere inside. Maybe even head to the store to find some new decorations for your home and your senior loved one’s living space. Take some time to meet a friend and exchange gifts over coffee like you used to this year with the help of Respite Care. Try the newly-renovated ACOCA Coffee location on College Avenue in Appleton. Regaining a sense of normalcy, even for a short period of time, can go a long way toward helping caregivers, especially at this time of the year.

Right at Home Can Help

If you’re looking for help with your senior loved one, our caregivers at Right at Home can help. Our experts can come into your home and offer a free assessment to determine your needs. To learn more about the care options we offer for clients and their families in the Fox Cities and

Green Bay area, call us today at (920) 257-4667 or email us at info@rahnew.com. Our office serves seniors throughout the Fox Cities communities, Green Bay and surrounding areas, including Winnebago, Outagamie, Calumet and Brown counties.

We can help tailor our care plans to meet your specific needs. Whether you need care every day of the week or just a mid-week break, we are here to help local families.

If you have a calling to help others, join us. Right at Home is looking for the Right People to join our team. We have immediate openings for in-home caregivers, Certified Home Health Aides and Certified Nursing Assistants. Visit us online for more information.