At some point in our lifetimes, we become responsible for other people. This might entail caring for our children who we are, of course, legally charged with remaining the carers and guardians of, but thankfully it’s not solely legal responsibility that inspires us to do it.
In some cases, you may have other duties fall into your lap, such as caring for a relative who might struggle with a health condition, taking in your grandparents to live with you as they move into old age, or perhaps helping a friend deal with single parenthood, even though our obligations are lessened in that latter example.
Caring is a tough job, even if it can be rewarding and you’re the best person to do it. However, it’s important to recognize your limits, and as such, look to any proven and healthy methods for extending the reach of your protective influence without smothering the person we’re responsible for. In this post, we’ll discuss a few techniques you could use in a range of scenarios. Without further ado, please consider:
Location Tracking For Your Kids
When it comes to protecting and caring for a child, one of the most important concerns is their safety and whereabouts. Location tracking can help provide peace of mind for parents, guardians, or caregivers by allowing them to know the location of a child at all times. There are a variety of location-tracking devices and apps available, such as GPS watches, smart devices, and phone apps that can be used to track a child’s location.
As a parent, this can give you the peace of mind to know that your children are safe, or at least you know where they are and can be alerted if they’re somewhere else.
These can be especially useful for children who are prone to wandering or have special needs, such as autism – a utility that many people forget when it comes to the importance of location tracking. In the long run, you’d be surprised just how well this effort works, and how as a carer, you can remain responsible for someone without even being near them.
Personal Alarms For The Elderly
As people age, they may become more prone to falls or other accidents, which can put them at risk of injury or worse. Personal alarms can provide a sense of security and independence for elderly relatives, allowing them to call for help in case of an emergency. This grants them a sense of being able to make their own decisions but still provides them with the means to call for help when they want it.
These alarms can be worn around the neck, on the wrist, or even as a pendant, and can be triggered by a button press or a fall sensor. You may have also seen them in purpose-built homes with bathroom alarms, so if they slip on a wet floor, they have the means to call for health.
Many personal alarms also come with a monitoring service, so that help can be dispatched even if the elderly person is unable to call for help themselves. It’s hard to overstate just how worthwhile this kind of provision can be.
Dietary Delivery Services
Maintaining a healthy diet is important for people of all ages, but can be especially challenging for elderly relatives or those with mobility or health issues. Dietary delivery services can help alleviate this challenge by delivering healthy, pre-prepared meals to a person’s home on a regular basis.
These services can be customized to meet specific dietary needs, such as low-sodium or gluten-free options, and can help ensure that a relative is getting the nutrition they need to stay healthy. You may have heard of certain services like Meals on Wheels or even particular home recipe kits that can help take the intensity of shopping away from the limited schedule of the person you care for. All are worth looking into depending on your needs and remember that some plans may be ideal for people with strict dietary needs.
Home Accessibility Infrastructure
Almost everyone experiences lessened mobility as they move into their later years, but those you might be responsible for an experience this with other conditions too, like muscular dystrophy.
Making sure their home is accessible and safe can help them maintain their independence. This can include installing handrails, ramps, or stairlifts, as well as making sure that doorways and hallways are wide enough for wheelchair access. Additionally, adding accessibility features such as voice-controlled lights, thermostats, and appliances, can also be beneficial in the best way.
Remote Monitoring Technology
It might sound intrusive, but sometimes remote monitoring technology can help you ensure everything is above board. In fact, it can be a great tool for caring for a relative from a distance. This technology can include cameras, sensors, and other devices that can be used to monitor a relative’s activity, health, and safety.
For example, a camera can be placed in a bedroom to monitor for falls, or a sensor can be placed in a refrigerator to monitor for changes in temperature that could indicate a problem. Remote monitoring technology can also include wearables, such as smartwatches, which can track a person’s activity levels, heart rate, and other vital signs like blood sugar levels – sometimes this can be lifesaving.
Depending on who you’re responsible for, you may also keep watch over them. A camera system in the room of your elderly relative can make sure that the visiting nurses are treating them right, provided they agree to be held in that surveillance system. Make sure you implement this correctly however and be mindful of the privacy implications. In some cases, those can be subverted, like when making sure audio monitoring technology is in the bedroom of a disabled child who might become restless in the right – with such an installation you can go and attend to them.
In-Home Caregiver Services
In-home caregiver services can provide a great solution for those who need additional support and care. These services can include everything from help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and grooming, to more advanced care such as administering medication and providing physical therapy for those who might have mobility issues.
Caregiver services can be customized to meet the specific needs of a person and can be provided on a full-time or part-time basis, as well as on a live-in or hourly basis – that makes such services flexible and highly useful depending on your needs and the hours by which you can come to care for someone you appreciate.
To Conclude
There are many options available for extending the reach of protecting and caring for a relative.
In order to define which ones are suitable for your own use, consider the extent of their utility, their cost, if you can seamlessly install them, and what quality of life they may bring. Personal alarms and infrastructure like handrails to help ascend steps are no-brainers, while camera systems and nurse visitations may need a second thought depending on need and what you can reliably afford.
Of course, it’s always good to consider just what the extent of your caring capabilities is, as sometimes a retirement or residential community your loved one can enter, where their needs are met as appropriate, can be the most essential way forward. In that sense, you’ll be more able to curate an effective outcome and gain some help for a job that’s already quite thankless and intense to plan for. You deserve all the praise in the world for doing your best.