I honestly believe being a family caregiver, or an independent caregiver, is one of the hardest and most challenging jobs there is, and it’s one of the most underpaid and underappreciated position in America. Caregiving for an aging person is much different than taking care of a baby/small child, especially if the aging person has cognition impairment (memory issues). These days adult children, especially women, are having to balance even more of what is on their plate while caregiving for an aging parent. Most women these days are career oriented, where with the older generation the women were mainly homemakers and/or worked only part-time. Women today are having to balance work, children/spouse, and usually at least one aging parent; we call this the sandwich generation (having to take care of children along with aging parents).
Being a caregiver myself I know firsthand how difficult and challenging caregiving can be, especially if it’s a family member and/or the person has cognition impairment. Sometimes caregivers must be involved either directly or indirectly with family dynamics, which can put the caregiver in an uncomfortable situation when it comes to their client, especially if the company they work for is not handling family concerns/dynamics well. Family feuds and strife should never be placed on the caregiver or allow it to affect the caregiver’s responsibilities to the client; this can eventually affect the quality of care provided by the caregiver due to the high stressful environment.
To say caregiving burnout is not real or it can be managed easily is untrue. Anyone that is taking care of another person can become burned out very easily, especially if self-care and time away from the client is not being managed well. We, as caregivers, truly want to give our all and best to our clients, and make sure they receive good quality of care. As we are providing this, we need to make sure we are balancing our mental and physical health with our responsibilities to that client.
Sometimes people may not understand what is entailed with caregiving for an aging person, and sometimes they lack understanding or empathy for the caregivers that need time away. I also believe most people do not realize how much caregivers do for their loved ones while getting paid very little.
Here is a basic list of what caregivers are responsible for, but are not limited to:
- Provide personal hygiene – showering, grooming, toileting, incontinence maintenance, dressing, dental hygiene (brushing teeth, dentures)
- Eating – assisting with feeding, cooking, meal preps, grocery shopping
- Medication management – refilling pill planner, reordering meds, distributing meds
- Transporting – assisting client from one chair to another, raising from bed/chair, walking next to the client for safety measures, lifting the client
- Companionship – providing presence and conversation for the client and/or family
- Errands – running errands for the client or driving them to appointments
- Pet maintenance – if they have a pet, it’s usually expected of us to take care of the pet(s) while we are present (feeding, walking, cleaning up after pet)
- Housekeeping – clean the client’s house (entails everything except outdoor work)
- Memory support – if the client has memory impairment, making sure they are safe, knowing what to do during behaviors and wandering, redirecting, encouraging, providing activities geared toward memory impairment
As you can see, being a caregiver is a lot of work, and requires not only a caregiver’s physical capabilities but also their emotional and mental abilities, which eventually can take a toll on one’s overall health if self-care and time away from work is not a priority.
*** If you have someone that is taking care of your aging family member(s), please remember to thank them, make them feel appreciated, and be understanding when they need to take a break or time away. The time away that they take to better themselves will help them to continue to provide good quality of care for your loved one. ***
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