Understanding
Senior Care

Winter Driving Tips for Aging Parents

From our Care Blog

As winter weather sweeps across the country, here are some ways to help keep senior drivers safe on the road. These tips can also help provide peace of mind to families out there who might be a little uneasy about their parents driving in the snow and ice. HELP YOUR PARENTS WINTERIZE THEIR CAR Ideally, you should help your aging parents winterize their car in the fall when the weather is still nice. But it’s not too late! A well-maintained car is essential to avoid unnecessary problems on wintry roads. Key things to check: The battery. Cold weather can be...

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The Financial Impact of Family Caregiving

From our Care Blog

Being the family caregiver for your aging parent can take a toll on your finances and your personal life. At some point in our lives, we will either need a caregiver or we will become one. Many adult children automatically become the family caregiver as parents age and need assistance around the house or with everyday tasks. When it comes to providing some sort of assistance to aging parents, many adult children are thrust into the situation unexpectedly. When this happens, it can have serious economic implications for an individual. A recent survey from AARP indicates that 38 percent of...

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Eye Health: Protecting Your Parent’s Vision

From our Care Blog

In honor of Glaucoma Awareness Month, we went through our blog library and found a few of our most popular posts related to eye health. January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, an important time to raise awareness of this growing disease, as well as other eye health problems. If you are caring for an aging parent or other loved one, it’s important that they get an eye exam every year, especially if they are over the age of 65. These exams are even more critical if they have high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of eye disease. Many eye...

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New Year's Resolutions for Family Caregivers

From our Care Blog

New year. New you. A sampling of New Year’s resolutions to help family caregivers stay happy, healthy and energized in 2019. 2019 is just days away and the beginning of a new year is a perfect time to evaluate our lives, address challenges and move forward with positivity. For caregivers, this is an especially important time, so we’ve put together a collection of family caregiver New Year’s resolutions just for you: In 2019, grow your support circle so that you’re not doing everything by yourself. Create a support team of family, friends and/or local resources, like FirstLight Home Care, to...

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Preventing Caregiver Blues During the Holidays

From our Care Blog

Caregiver Blues: Tips to help family caregivers cope with depression this holiday season. Even though the holiday season is a time for family, friends and lots of activities, it can also be a stressful time for many people, especially seniors and their family caregivers. Unrealistic expectations, loneliness, reflection on losses, anxiety about an uncertain future, failing to get enough sleep, exercise, or not eating right are a few reasons that may cause caregiver blues over the holidays. Here are some great tips on how you, or the family caregiver in your life, can prevent the holiday caregiver blues: Set realistic...

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Free (or Cheap) Family Holiday Traditions

From our Care Blog

During the holidays, it’s a great time to gather up the family and start a simple, yet heartwarming, Christmas tradition. We’ve pulled together a list of free (or cheap) indoor and outdoor activities that would make great family holiday traditions. For our FirstLight Home Care caregivers, these are some of their favorite things to do with clients and families to bond and create lasting memories over the holidays. These 12-holiday traditions are designed to be fun for everyone (and that includes your wallet). Take a holiday light tour: Pile everyone into the car, put on some Christmas tunes, and go...

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Surviving the Holidays: Tips for Family Caregivers

From our Care Blog

There is no doubt the holidays can be demanding. For family caregivers, this time of year can be even more difficult due to less time and additional responsibilities. FirstLight Home Care has wrapped up some tips for caregivers to help them make it through the holiday season with more joy and less stress. Establish ground rules. Communication is key. If regular family visits are part of your holiday traditions, make sure everyone is on the same page. In advance of family arriving, make sure you communicate the physical and mental changes or abilities of the loved one in your care...

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Finding Balance: Tips for the Sandwiched Caregiver

From our Care Blog

The sandwich generation is a generation of people who care for their aging parents while bringing up their own children. A recent Pew Study said that nearly 40 percent of those in the sandwich generation also provide emotional and financial support to both their aging parents, as well as their grown children. The sandwich generation caregiver gets squeezed between caring for two different groups of family members, and it can get a bit stressful. Here are six practical tips for caregivers living in the sandwich generation. Prioritize What Matters: Make a list of all the things you think must be...

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Giving Thanks to the Family Caregiver

From our Care Blog

Today is Thanksgiving. A day to pause and give thanks to the people and blessings we have in our lives. At FirstLight Home Care, we have much to be thankful for. We are most grateful for our amazing caregivers across the United States who are providing exceptional care and compassion to local families. We are also thankful for the more than 40 million Americans who are family caregivers and will spend this Thanksgiving – like every day – placing the care and safety of a family loved one first. We thank them for their hard work, selflessness, dedication, and the...

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How Technology Can Assist Family Caregivers

From our Care Blog

There is a common misconception that technology and seniors don’t mesh. For a portion of seniors, this may be true, and technology may be intimidating. But for a large and growing number of elderly Americans, technology is becoming a way of life. Computers, smartphones, social media, and other devices are helping more seniors live independently. These new trends in technology not only give family members peace of mind, but they can help family caregivers provide even better care. GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) A GPS tracker can be attached to clothing or be worn on the wrist to tell a caregiver...

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