If your parent has been diagnosed with dementia, you may be wondering about the type of care you need to provide, especially if your parent lives alone. It isn't safe for anyone with dementia to live alone, but your parent may not be willing to move into a nursing home or dementia care facility just yet. One possible solution is home care. Here's how it might help.

Your Parent Might Stay In Their Home Longer

Depending on how severe the dementia is, having someone come to your parent's home to provide dementia care might be a good solution. This allows your parent to stay in their home for as long as possible while staying safe.

A home care professional that's trained to care for people with dementia watches for things like wandering off, staying safe in the home, taking medications on time, and eating enough calories.

Home Care Could Provide Help While You Work

You may prefer to move your parent into your home so you can keep a closer watch on them, especially if their dementia is becoming more advanced. You could have a dementia care assistant stay with your parent during the day while you work to offer supervision, companionship, and to prepare meals. Then you could watch your parent at night.

You could also use the home care service for supervising your parent when you have events or appointments to attend. A home care company is usually flexible in the hours they can provide care, so you don't necessarily have to use them full time.

You Could Combine Home Care With Daycare

You may want to use a dementia daycare center if your parent is agreeable to it. These are provided in some nursing homes and independent centers so your parent has a place to go and be with other seniors during the day.

They'll be able to watch movies, talk to friends, play games, and stay socially stimulated so they don't have to sit at home alone. You could combine daycare with home care so your parent has a companion to supervise them at times when you're not home.

Caring for someone with dementia is a big responsibility since anything could happen. Your parent might walk out the door and wander off or do something unsafe around the home. It's not possible for you to watch your parent 24-hours a day, so taking advantage of a dementia care service helps both you and your parent during this difficult time of your lives.

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