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When a loved one develops a health condition, and caregiving responsibilities ensue, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. In addition to so many new care-related things to worry about, you also have to continue to manage your ongoing life responsibilities.
New caregivers often ask themselves the following questions:
- “Where do I start?”
- “How will I manage?”
- “Who can I ask for help?”
- “Is there a handbook for this?”
That last one is my personal favorite. Family caregiving is like parenting—there is no handbook for this. Unfortunately, you get thrust into this new role, and you figure it out as you go.
While there may not be a handbook that will teach you everything you need to know about caregiving responsibilities, there is a handy-dandy resource that I’m delighted to share with you.
It’s the AARP Family Caregiving Guide.
In a succinct and practical way, the AARP Family Caregiving Guide helps you get on track with your family caregiving responsibilities. It’s a useful tool for new caregivers as well as experienced caregivers, and you can download it free of charge from the AARP website.
The AARP Family Caregiving Guide has been written in easy-to-understand language, and it does an impressive job offering guidance about many of the most common issues and concerns that family caregivers have. The guide provides insights on approaching delicate topics of conversation with your loved one; forming your caregiving team; making a caregiving plan; finding support; and caring for yourself.
The AARP Family Caregiving Guide has a useful glossary of terms that you’ll need to understand if you’re new to family caregiving. For instance, do you know the difference between a conservator and a guardian? What about the difference between a nursing home and an assisted living facility? Have you ever heard of respite care? These are among the important words and concepts you should know as you enter the realm of family caregiving.
My favorite part of the AARP Family Caregiving Guide is at the end. The last part of the guide contains checklists and a sample plan for family caregivers. Even if you’re an experienced caregiver, you could benefit from looking at these checklists because they may contain a few things you haven’t considered before. They also prompt you to gather relevant information into a single place, which can be incredibly helpful in staying organized. The checklists are separated into categories as follows:
- General Needs
- Personal Information
- Home Maintenance
- Health
- Medication
- Transportation
- Financial
- Public Benefits
The concluding sample caregiving plan gives you ideas about how to organize your weekly caregiving tasks into achievable routine tasks. While family caregivers must often expect the unexpected, a structured routine is often the most efficient way to handle the regular day-to-day functions of care.
I have recommended the AARP Family Caregiving Guide in various community workshops, but for some reason I never wrote about it. If you’re not familiar with it, I’m happy to introduce it to you now.
I’m also going to add a link to the AARP Family Caregiving Guide on the downloadable resources page of the Caregiving Kinetics website. Please check out that page for additional helps for family caregivers (many of which can only be found here).
I’m always looking for handy-dandy resources for family caregivers. If you have one that you’d like to share, please let me know!
Finally, if you’re interested in scheduling an event to introduce any of the resources found on this website to caregivers in your community, please contact Caregiving Kinetics.
Posted in Caregiving
