
posted 5th May 2023
What to do when Elderly parents refuse help?
Start Small- Work out the minimum amount of help your parent would accept. You can use a home care package for many different types of care, grocery shopping, outings, cleaning, house maintenance, meal prep or personal care. Accepting a small amount of help is a big step for some people. Crossing the threshold is hard. But once your parent is receiving some help, many of their fears ease and they can see it is actually helpful.
Accept the situation- Despite your best intentions, you have to accept that your parent is an adult and entitled to make decisions about their own life and how much assistance or care they are willing to receive.
Be empathetic- Be there for your parent by being present and engaged with body language and verbal cues. Some examples of empathetic nonverbals include head nodding, physical touch(e.g., hand holding) to show understanding, and communicating with a warm and relaxed tone.
Give them control- Preserving a persons independence is so important when you're providing care for them at home; encouraging them to still undertake aspects of their daily routine if they want to is an important part of person-centered care.
Stay Calm and Positive- Staying calm and positive when you're working with an elderly parent can be difficult, but it can also be one of the most important things you can do to help support your parent.