How to Prepare for an Older Adult Becoming a New Member of the Household

Many families may need to prepare for an older adult such as their parent or grandparent to become a new member in the household. The main thing that would bother me if I needed to share my home with my grandma on a long-term basis would be having to constantly be aware of what she’s doing. My grandma has Alzheimer’s, and she is currently living in her own home with my grandpa. However, she tends to wander and has gotten lost several times after leaving the house when my grandpa wasn’t watching her. One time she almost started a fire because she forgot she was cooking something and left the stove on. Therefore, if she was living with me I would need to constantly check on her to ensure she was safe. My family structure consists of my mom and dad who are married and in their 50s. Then there’s my younger brother and I who are in our 20s and living with our parents. Our structure would be considered a nuclear family because it consists of two parents and two children. In order to accommodate my grandma’s condition my family would need to arrange our schedules so at least one person could be at home at any given time to provide care and supervision. We would also need to monitor the medications she takes and provide transportation for her if she needed to go anywhere like a doctor’s appointment.

(Mind Help, n.d.)

One family structure that is different than mine is the single-parent family which may have occurred from divorce or a spouse passing away. A household with only one parent who has all the responsibility of managing the family would find it difficult to add another family member who needs to be taken care of. It can be challenging for a single parent to have so many responsibilities of running a household which can lead to decrease in health and well-being (Van Gasse & Mortelmans, 2020). A single parent is already doing their best to raise their children on their own and to have an older adult stay with them will create more stress. Another family structure is the childless family which consist of a couple who never had children. If they needed to take in their parent or grandparent they would be in a better position to care for them because that couple would have greater financial stability. However, it may create a conflict regarding privacy between the couple and older adult. A third family structure would be an extended family which consists of the parents, older adult children, and their children living together. It may be easier to share the responsibility of taking care of the new family member coming to stay. However, there may be issues regarding space because there are already so many people living in one household.

 

(Psych Hub, 2020)

There are many issues all families need to consider when adding an older adult to the household. There are questions to ask and consider such as will the environment be safe for a new family member and where will the older adult be staying (Touhy & Jett, 2020)? The environment may not have enough lighting for an elderly person to navigate or there may be too much clutter that could pose as a tripping hazard. Also, in a household there may not be enough rooms to accommodate everyone, so someone may have to share. Modifications would need to be made in order to adjust to having an older adult in the household. The family can clean up the clutter by removing loose wires and throw rugs. They can add night lights throughout the house so the older adult can see better. When it comes to sharing a living space the family can designate a room or have that person share a bedroom with someone they’re comfortable with. 

There are several potential areas of conflict that can occur during this transition. One conflict area would be an increase in expenses due to needing more food and clothing for the older adult. Another area of conflict would be sharing the responsibilities and completing household tasks. One person shouldn’t have to be the only one performing all the chores in the house. There are ways to decrease areas of conflict such as having the older adult pay for some expenses. They may pay a set amount such as one-hundred or two-hundred dollars each month depending on how much they can afford to give. Also, they may choose to pay a specific bill like the lighting or gas. However, this area of conflict has the potential for elder abuse to occur. A family member could financially abuse the older adult by using the money given for their own pleasure or taking money without permission and the elderly person would not report them out of fear (West et al., 2021). Therefore, it's important for others to understand the signs of abuse and to report them immediately. Another way to decrease an area of conflict is to have everyone in the household share the responsibility of completing tasks. The older person could set the table before every meal or fold clothes after the laundry is finished.

There are local services and resources that can facilitate the transition such as Clermont Senior Services and Granny Nannies of Clermont. The first service has a support group where caregivers can meet. They also provide respite care and adult day care (Clermont Senior Services, n.d.). The second service has many home care resources a caregiver can utilize (Granny Nannies, n.d.). The contact information and website for Clermont Senior Services are 513-724-1255, info@clermontseniors.com, and https://clermontseniors.com/services/caregiver-support/. The contact information and website for Granny Nannies of Clermont are 352-536-2511 and https://grannynannies.com/Clermont/Home-Care-Resources. 

References 

Clermont Senior Services (n.d.). Caregiver support. https://clermontseniors.com/services/caregiver-support/

Granny Nannies. (n.d.). Home care resources. https://grannynannies.com/Clermont/Home-Care-Resources

Mind Help. (n.d.). Types of family dynamics. https://mind.help/topic/family-dynamics/types/

Psych Hub. (2020, August 26). New to caregiving. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3g0oxMqUbo

Touhy, T.A., & Jett, K. (2020). Ebersole & hess’ toward healthy aging: Human needs & nursing response (10th ed.). Elsevier.

Van Gasse, D., & Mortelmans, D. (2020). Reorganizing the single‐parent family system: exploring the process perspective on divorce. Family Relations, 69(5), 1100–1112. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12432

West, A., Cawley, C., Crow, E., Stoner, A. M., Fadel, N. M., Ford-Scales, K., & Cheng, N. (2021). The impact of an educational program on medical students’ knowledge and awareness of elder abuse. Journal of Medical Education & Curricular Development, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205211016487