What Families Really Learn When Caring for Loved Ones at Home

Caring for loved ones at home can be a challenge. There are a lot of valuable lessons that can help to ensure growth within those who are providing care and the bonds that are often strengthened within the family.

Families who have to adapt and care for ageing loved ones can learn a lot from caring for them in the home. This guide will look at how dynamics can change and what life lessons can be learnt in this next chapter of their lives.

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Caring for an elderly loved one

Whilst we may not like to think of our loved ones getting older and struggling with old age, time ticks on and we all get older with old age causing difficulties to some people’s lives. As old age creeps up on people being able to maintain an active and independent life sometimes becomes increasingly more difficult.

Being able to get out and about easily especially being able to drive oneself places may become a challenge. Looking after the home and coping with household chores may become too much. Caring for and managing to clothe, wash or even feed oneself may become too difficult.

When a loved one starts to struggle with looking after themselves due to the difficulties and declining health that old age can cause family members have to consider living arrangements and long-term care.

Memories of baby Bug, washing baby clothes, caring for sensitive skin and supporting Tommy’s #Mums4Tommys #shop

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When I was pregnant with Bug I felt like the luckiest girl in the World. All of my hopes and wishes of being a mum one day were at long last coming true as Bug grew inside of me.  As my baby bump blossomed I loved the process of preparing for the arrival of our baby.  I loved shopping for baby products; in particular I loved handpicking adorable newborn baby clothes ready for our arrival. During the last few weeks of my pregnancy as my nesting instincts kicked in I felt a true sense of satisfaction lovingly washing baby clothes.

Loneliness and the elderly - Stannah Stairlift survey.

Having grown up in a rural Welsh community where there is a strong ethos of looking after each other I grew up with the belief that helping others is important.  Thanks to my belief in helping others and a respect for others especially the elderly, since I was a child I have thought it is very important to care for the elderly.

Not only do I regularly spend time with and do my best to care for and help my elderly relatives, I also make sure to keep in regular touch with my elderly neighbours. For me personally I love spending time with elderly people; they have a lifetime’s worth of wealth to impart through their stories, are inspirational and are friendly company.

As I believe the British pensioners are valuable members of society I found the results of a recent YouGov poll conducted by lift manufacturer Stannah Stairlift to be a sad insight into how British pensioners feel.

Fostering in England: The Facts and Figures.

If you’re looking to expand your family without having any – or more – children of your own, or really think you could make a difference to a vulnerable child’s life, fostering could be a fantastic opportunity for yourself and all those involved.

When embarking on any major change like adding to your family, it’s essential that you arm yourself with all the facts at your disposal. Facts regarding fostering in England are a great place to start as you can really catch a glimpse of the impact your decision will have on a young person’s life. It may also help answer any questions you have, and can help you choose a child from a certain situation more suitably.

Tips for Decorating a Foster Child’s Bedroom.

I have always admired people who foster children, having read true life books about fostering and heard stories from friends who foster I imagine that fostering can be at times very difficult and challenging but very worthwhile and rewarding.

I remember when my best friend was beginning her journey to become a foster carer she often confided in me her worry about making any foster children they had feel welcome and comfortable in their home.  One of the tasks she had was making the bedrooms she had for foster children into rooms that children would feel happy and comfortable in whilst keeping them suitable for both girls and boys and for children of different ages.

Unlike with her own children whose tastes and likes she knew so well she had to create welcoming bedrooms that would become the foster children’s own space without really knowing their likes and dislikes.  I often sympathised with the tricky matter of delicately balancing the need for a lovely, welcoming and homely room for foster children without it being restrictive in regards of gender or age and also making sure it was not too overwhelming with over-the-top decorating as some of the foster children she would take it would sadly not be used to having their own room or a personally decorated haven for them to enjoy. 

When welcoming a foster child into your home, regardless of the amount of time they will spend with you, it’s of course imperative that they feel happy, safe and secure.  Even if they are only with you for a short time, they will need their own room in which they can have some privacy in a comfortable and happy space.

Creating this refuge for your foster child can seem like quite a daunting task as you will no doubt want to get it just right but may not know much about the child yet.  Therefore we thought we’d put some tips together to help you achieve that safe haven that they will love.

Helping your Elderly Loved One Maintain their Independence.

When my great grandmother was alive during her last few years of her life she started struggling with everyday tasks making it difficult to keep her independence and the very social lifestyle that she enjoyed.  Unfortunately for her with old age came a fight to maintain the independence she had cherished and preserved for years. 

Being very close to my great grandmother, loving and admiring her for her strength of character and the achievements she accomplished during her earlier difficult life I hated seeing the spark and passion for life dwindling in her as she felt helplessness and anger at no longer being able to maintain an independent life.

Whilst we as a family supported my great grandmother, encouraged and helped her maintain her busy social life and helped her when with tasks she struggled doing independently so that she did not feel a burden and still felt that she could maintain an independent life without having to rely on family we organised home help for her.

It was a joy to see my great grandmother happier at being able to continuing living at home and enjoying her life thanks to getting some help for her at home with carers and by supporting and helping her ourselves.

Tips when Adopting a Cat for your Family.

If you and your family have been considering adding to the family in the form of a cat, you’ve no doubt started to think about things like what breed to go for, which age to choose and where to get it from.

If you want to truly make a difference to a cat’s life, adopting one from a shelter can be hugely rewarding for all of those involved. Cats that have spent lots of time in a shelter will usually make the perfect pet as they will be longing for a loving family to be a part of.