It is important that you have a family meeting with your elderly loved one every once in a while. Having these meetings will allow everyone to bring up things that are bothering them. It will also give your elderly loved one a chance to let you and their elderly care providers what other help they may need. There are some tips for having these family meetings with your elderly loved one.
Don’t Have Them At Holiday or Regular Gatherings
You should never have these family meetings at holiday gatherings. This could potentially ruin everyone’s holiday. You should also not have these family meetings at regular gatherings. For instance, if your elderly loved one usually comes over to your house on Sundays for dinner, this is not the time or the place for the meeting. You should specify another time to have these meetings.
Let Your Loved One Lead
These family meetings are about doing what is best for your elderly loved one. They are about making sure your elderly loved one gets the best care. Yes, you can have your say in what may need to change, but ultimately your elderly loved one should be lead at these family meetings. They should be allowed to start off the meeting with the topic they feel is most important. The discussions can follow from there. If your elderly loved one can’t lead the meeting, it is important for everyone to keep the decisions in your loved one’s best interest.
Listen to Everyone
While your elderly loved one should be leading these meetings, everyone should get a chance to speak. For instance, if there are elder care providers involved, they should get to speak about what they feel or see is going on. If they think your elderly loved one could use more help with laundry or other tasks, they can bring it up at these meetings. They shouldn’t just say they are taking these tasks over. However, they can ask if it is something they can help with. If everyone gets a chance to speak and everyone listens to one another, these family meetings can go smoothly.
Write Things Down
At the end of the family meeting, everything that was decided upon should be written down. This way, if anyone has questions later on, they can refer to the notes. For instance, if you forget what was decided about the transportation for your elderly loved one, you can look at the notes and remember that you are responsible for the transportation on the specified days.
Conclusion
These are some of the tips for having a family meeting with your elderly loved one. If these tips are followed, the meetings can go smoothly. In addition, with these tips, your elderly loved one’s best interests will always be put first.
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