Brighter Skies: Your Blueprint for Navigating Elder Care

You have a moral obligation to care for your parents, spouse and children. To do this well, you need to be informed, plan ahead, and take care of yourself first. The earlier the better.

This simple to understand blueprint lays down 10 Guiding Principles to make the process of Elder Care more bearable and less stressful. Follow these tips and you will spare yourself and your loved ones unnecessary pain in both the long and short terms.

Families should:
• Become informed. Most people haven’t gone through the elder care process before. There are a lot of moving parts in providing elder care, so the more you know about your elder’s health, doctors, treatment options, living situation, and legal and financial life, the better you’ll be able to make the right choices for your loved one.
• Plan ahead. While it’s always nice to plan ahead, it is not always possible if you have your children and parents to look after. However, you have the ability to plan ahead—even for emergencies. You’ll need to decide where your loved one will live both short term and long term, what medical and everyday care they will need in order to be independent, get their legal documents in order so you can speak for them without going to court, and accommodate any special family dynamics you have.
• Take care of yourself first. Elder care requires an incredible amount of work. If you don’t pay attention to yourself, the strain you experience will decrease both your effectiveness and your ability to make wise decisions. In addition, because of this strain, you won’t even know it. If you’re not both physically and mentally healthy, you won’t be able to provide your loved one with the care they deserve.