A few months ago, I shared with you my personal story about when care comes home. It is a story close to my heart for obvious reasons. I wanted to share that story with you again because November is National Caregivers Month.
There are millions of people that give care to a loved one at home on a daily basis and we are featuring National Caregivers Month on the blog in hopes that we can bring to light some of the needs and issues of the caregivers. It is a tough job that is often thankless but completed with love, care and understanding. Bringing attention to those that work countless hours caring for another is the least we can do. But I want to share some thoughts and resources that can help too.
Caregiver Action Network says that 2 out of 5 adults are caregivers with much of that coming from the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. For those new to giving care for a loved one, there are resources that can help like this site. It is dedicated to offering tips, advice and articles that will help a new or established caregiver with questions and answers.
You can find caregivers tips and guides, a community of support and even home care kits to help you with hygiene, germ control and home care cleaning, an important part of the home care process. Make sure to download the free guide to caregiving that I wish I had when I started giving care.
If you know a caregiver or you are one yourself, share the Clorox CareConcepts website and stop by yourself. Make sure to do something special for a caregiver you know in November to help bring to light National Caregivers Month.
What can you do? Here are a few ideas:
* Take a caregiver out to lunch
* Offer to sit with those that need care for some much appreciated time off
* Make Dinner
* Clean the house
* Do Laundry
* Run Errands
* Be a support system
Offering your help is much appreciated by those that hate to ask. It is easy to make a difference to someone giving care by using these tips.
You can find the new line of Clorox CareConcepts kits at stores like CVS, Rite-Aid and online at Amazon, Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com. For a complete list and more information on caregiving and home care, check out the Clorox CareConcepts website.
I am still a caregiver for my husband in some ways, but he is able to do almost everything on his own now. Taking on the role of a caregiver was one of the most difficult things I have ever done and millions do it every day. Take time to thank a caregiver today.
This blog post is sponsored by Clorox.
I am a caregiver, to both my old mom and my disabled brother. Who cares for the caregiver? I feel like I am starting to burn out……it’s a scary feeling, because there’s no one else to take care of them. And all I hear is “Do the laundry”, “Wash the dishes”, “Fix my bed”……not a please or a thank you, from either, and they do NOT have any dementia. I am so alone in this. OK, pity party is OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve been reading in my nursing newsletters about the high cost of assisted living and how they are looking for alternatives. Caregiving at home is often the only alternative economically and it can be so challenging as we all know.
Alzheimer’s disease is starting to take hold of my grandma…my aunt takes care of her, and my Mom says that its hard to keep up with.
Thank you and God bless you. God bless all the caregivers, both loved ones and nurses. It is the most amazing “field,” if that is even the right term. I had to care for my daughter for months after her illness helping with everyday necessities. It’s a 24/7 job, and I love the idea of taking time to honor them. I know she appreciated all I did, but I know so many aren’t appreciated or recognized for their work. I’m so glad a month and organizations are taking time to do so.
Having been a caregiver I can attest it isnt an easy thing to do all the time. Another simple thing is to smile at the person caring for another or tell a joke anything really helps. Come over for coffe, just dont lose touch because the caregiver cant always do things.
This is a great concept and I had no idea that here was a National Care Giver month thanks for sharing. Finding a good caregiver is so important and they should be rewarded.
I had the help of many friends when I was caring for my mother. Thanks for the post.
Thank you for this post. I didn’t know about the Clorox Care Concepts kits and shall look in CVS or RiteAid for them. A caregiver often doesn’t want to ask for help, but greatly appreciates anything done.