What is Structured Family Caregiving?
Structured family caregiving is care given to a person in their own home, or in the home of a caregiver that is related to the person needing care. The caregiver will provide structured activities and care during the day and then can in return be paid for the services they provide. This helps the one that needs to be cared for because they are already familiar with the caregiver, and it benefits the caregiver because they will receive pay for the care they already administer.
There are many places that you can go to so that you can get the assistance you need to care for your loved one. You can also get help from a Medicaid Program that can help you to find out what you need to do in order to be paid for your service. You can provide the care for your loved one better than strangers can in their own home.
While you care for your loved one, you will need some structured activities that you can do for them. Listed below are some of the ideas to keep your loved ones focused so that you can keep them happy and entertained in their own home, or in your home.
Tips to Keep Your Loved One Happy:
1. Do One Thing at a Time
You need to concentrate on doing just one thing at a time so that you are not worrying about the next thing or about any of the problems that you might have. If you can focus all your senses on the current activity, you can help your loved one to do the same.
2. Take a Mindful Walk
Take a walk and notice the things that you might see, all the sights, sounds, feelings, touches, and even tastes along your way. This will help your loved one to focus on the moment and not to worry about the past or the future. This will also help you in the same ways so that you can be a better caregiver.
3. Share Your Feelings
As a caregiver, you will have lots of feelings during the day while you are providing care. Find a person that you can call on a regular basis so that you can share those feelings and not dwell on them. Also, provide your loved one with the chance to do the same thing. Let them talk to you about their feelings or provide them with a person that they can do that with. You will both feel better after you are able to share the feelings that you are having and not bottling them up and keeping them inside.
4. Schedule Breaks
Make sure that you schedule breaks for your loved one and for you, as well. You need to make sure that you take these breaks so that you are more refreshed for the tasks that you need to complete. Make sure that your loved one also takes breaks, they cannot continue with all the activities that you want to complete if they are too tired to do so.
5. Give Credit
Give yourself credit for doing a difficult job, one that is very important to you and your loved one. Make sure that you know how difficult the job is and make sure that others know this, as well. Also give your loved one credit for doing the best that they can, they do not want to be in a position to be taken care of. They want to be young and healthy again and be able to do the things they used to do without assistance. Give both of yourselves credit for getting along with each other and for doing the best you can for each other.
6. Find Sources of Social Support
You need to be able to have a social support network for you and your loved one. You need to be able to get away from the responsibility of taking care of your loved one occasionally and they need a chance to be away from you, as well. They also need a social network that they can have fun with and be away from the stresses of the day. Do some research to find the right support that you both may need. You can look here to see some of the support that may be available for you. A good adult day care program that you can take them to occasionally will help you both to accomplish this.
7. Engage in a Hobby
You can learn a new hobby for you and your loved one to participate in together and maybe different hobbies that you can each do alone. There are many things that do not take a lot of effort that you can do, from jigsaw puzzles to crocheting and knitting. Maybe you can have your loved one teach you a hobby that they did in their younger lives.
8. Keep a Schedule
Make sure that you make a schedule for you and your loved one and try to stick to it, especially if your loved one is having cognitive issues. A schedule will help you both to know what will happen each day and to keep you busy during the day. You will need to make sure that you also schedule in those hobbies and fun things with all the things you need to accomplish.
9. Schedule Exercise Time
Make sure that you are scheduling time to exercise, even if you feel that you are too tired to do so. Exercise can sometimes make you more energetic and more willing to complete the tasks that you need to accomplish. Schedule some exercise for your loved one, as well, making sure to adapt the exercises to their abilities. Exercising will help you both to have more energy to have fun together.
10. Ask for Help
Although you probably want to do everything on your own, make sure that you ask for help when you need it. No one can do everything by themselves, and there is no shame in asking for help. Make sure that you let your loved one also know that they can ask you for help and they can ask others for help, as well. You can find some help for you and your loved one here. They can provide you the help you need and help you to get the assistance that you need.
You can do all these things that you can do to make sure that the structured family caregiving that you provide will be a positive experience for you and your loved one.
Maria Khatun Mona is a Founder and Editor of Nursing Exercise Blog. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Expert. Currently she is working as a Registered Nurse at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has great passion in writing different articles on Nursing and Midwifery. Mail her at “maria.mona023@gmail.com”