Hiring a caregiver for your beloved senior should not be taken lightly. You’re relying on someone to care for your parents – you have to be sure of that someone’s commendable qualities.
Those commendable qualities must make your elderly parents feel comfortable around the caregiver. They should feel loved, cared for, and not lonely – not just in the physical sense.
Let’s see what those qualities are.
A Good Caregiver is an Empathizer
It should be a no-brainer. But there are cases when caregivers ignore the emotional distress of their patients. Not being able to identify and understand what seniors are going through makes for a flawed caring system.
Understanding what the senior feels personally allows caregivers to effectively ease the senior’s pains, fears, and discomfort. Empathy is key to seniors not being neglected.
As people age, their needs grow. They become more vulnerable. But some seniors don’t want to be a burden. This desire to not be a burden sometimes even extends to the unreasonable.
This is all the more reason to need an empathizing caregiver. It would be best if you had someone who can see what your parents feel without your parents expressing those feelings.
A Good Caregiver is Patient and Resilient
Caregiving is a difficult occupation. It’s filled with stress. The hours are demanding. And being exposed to the health problems of others take a mental toll.
You want to hire a caregiver who is extremely patient and resilient. Someone who isn’t easily deterred by the obstacles they might face taking care of your parents. You want someone who does not give up easily.
A Good Caregiver is Attentive
Aside from having a radar that detects how their wards feel, excellent caregivers should be highly attentive to the nuances of their patient’s well-being. They should see minor changes in the health, mood, sleeping patterns, and the general disposition of the seniors they are caring for.
A senior who lives with a severe health condition needs constant care and attention. It’s the caregiver’s responsibility to be attuned to these needs even if the elderly can’t verbally communicate them.
A Good Caregiver Communicates
Good communication skills must be in a caregiver’s arsenal. Although you are partly putting the wellbeing of your beloved parents in the caregiver’s hands, you still want to be well-informed about their situation. You want to be in the loop. You want to know how your parents are doing.
The caregiver should fully express any concerns or improvements the elderly in their care goes through. Additionally, he or she should be able to provide meaningful companionship to the patient. Listening, understanding, and sincere conversation should come naturally.
A Good Caregiver Has a Good Sense of Humour
Caregiving is a tough job. It’s stressful, tiring, and holds a lot of responsibility. But that doesn’t mean caregivers should be poker-faced, taciturn, and rigid robots. They should display a warm personality that’s quick with a smile.
“Laughter is the best medicine.” How true is this? Well, there are scientific proofs of it. Humor reduces stress in intense situations. And it comes in handy when caring for a senior who might feel down.
Aside from helping others relax and release tension, humor helps build stronger mental and physical health. Just the amount of endorphin released by laughter adds stability to the mind. Aside from that, mirthful laughter also makes the heartbeat stronger, improves blood flow, and delivers more oxygen to the cells. Furthermore, it’s found to cause us to breathe deeper and exhale at a fuller capacity.
Humor improves the health of participants. And you want it to be part of a caregiver’s repertoire.
A Good Caregiver is Dependable
It is a no-brainer. If the caregiver is not dependable, would you put the health of your aging parents in that caregiver’s hands? This dependability should be an encompassing trait. Whether it’s medication reminders, light housekeeping, companionship, or transportation, the caregiver should have only the most profound sense of responsibility regarding these tasks.
They should know that another person’s quality of life depends on them. Thus, they want to meet the highest standards and make sure the elderly and that elderly’s family can rely on him or her.
A Good Caregiver is Friendly
One of the biggest causes of depression and anxiety among seniors is loneliness. It may not be part of the job description, but a caregiver who prioritizes being friendly is one who goes above and beyond for the elderly they’re responsible for.
A friendly caregiver understands that the job is not just for the sake of making money. They know that they can’t improve the quality of the senior’s life just by reminding them of their medications. And a good caregiver does not just assist their ward in grooming. These caregivers understand that the well-being of others extends beyond the physical. They know that an emotional connection with others adds color to life.
The Search for the Best Caregivers is OVER!
For those in the Orange County, California, area, searching for the best caregivers is over! Infinite Love Homecare caregivers put into practice these essential qualities professionally! Compassionate, responsible, helpful – they are what you want for your loved ones if you want the best.
Our services include companionship, light housekeeping, mobility assistance, medication reminders, transportation, hygiene and grooming assistance, and many more. What’s more? The family will get regular updates from our experts—all of these perks and more for the most affordable prices in the market.
Any help you need for your aging parents, Infinite Love Homecare is ready to give it to you. Either home care or board and care, we’ve got you covered. We offer free consultations. You can reach us at (949) 529-4130. You can also message us via our Contact Us page. If you need details on what our services are, see our Services webpage.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2825742/
https://www.apa.org/pi/about/publications/caregivers/practice-settings/common-problems/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
https://www.cdc.gov/aging/publications/features/lonely-older-adults.html