Are you a member of the Sandwich Generation? If you’re trying to balance taking care of your kids and taking care of a senior parent then you are. The members of the Sandwich Generation are often stretched very thin trying to meet the needs of both their children and their senior parent. And sometimes trying to squeeze in a job as well. If you’re feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by the responsibilities and challenges of trying to care for two different generations of your family first, take a deep breath. Elder care providers can take a lot of the day-to-day responsibilities of caring for a senior parent off of your shoulders.
Use these tips to give yourself some breathing room and help you find a balance in caring for your kids and your senior parent:
Get Elder Care
When your senior parent has elder care you won’t need to worry about helping your senior parent with things like housecleaning, laundry, meal preparation, shopping, medication management, and errands. A care provider can help with all of those tasks and more. Elder care makes it much easier for you to juggle the responsibilities you have and it gives your senior parent consistent care that they can rely on.
Use Time-Saving Services
When it comes to juggling the care of your senior loved one and care of your children sometimes spending a little money to gain time is worth it. You can use time-saving services like grocery delivery or grocery pickup to reduce the amount of time you need to spend taking your senior parent grocery shopping or shopping for them. You can also set up an account so they can take a car share service to the doctor, the gym, or anyplace else that you would usually drive them. Elder care can also help with getting your senior loved one to the doctor or other appointments.
Make Time To Keep Yourself Healthy
Even though it might seem like you’re being selfish if you block off time for yourself taking the time you need to keep yourself healthy isn’t selfish. Take the time to exercise, get your hair cut, and get to bed at a decent hour. You won’t be able to effectively care for anyone else if you’re not taking care of your own needs first.
Double Up On Chores And Errands
If services like grocery delivery aren’t available in your area try to double up on chores and errands to save time. For example, when you go to the grocery store do the shopping that your senior parent needs to be done as well as your own so you don’t have to make two separate trips to the store. Take their mail to the post office as well as your own. Doing double duty when it comes to errands and chores can save you hours of time each week that you can use for other things.
