November 8, 2018

What is Respite Care?

You might have heard the term ‘Respite Care’, before but wondered what does that mean. When you are a caregiver, it is a 24-7 job. From time to time a break can be very helpful, which is where respite care comes in.  Respite care provides caregivers with a short break from their care duties.

About 50% of people in their 40’s and 50’s are caring for elderly parents and their own children. Being a caregiver to your parents and children can be quite overwhelming. Using respite care to take a break from caregiving for a few hours, days or weeks will give you the break you need.

There’s no doubt you want to do everything you can for your elderly parents, but trying to do it all can make things worse. You can easily become tired or short-tempered from taking on too much. Someone trying to do it all usually leads to slip ups in many areas from your marriage, career and even your relationship with your parents.

Outsourcing even the most basic tasks can help reduce your caregiver workload. Make note of all that you do for your elderly parents. Some of the easiest tasks are the most practical to outsource, such as: laundry, grocery shopping, driving or housekeeping. Not only can caregivers provide help with daily tasks, they can also provide companionship to your parents.