Caregiver Tips: Being an Effective Communicator in Your Care Journey

Caregiver in Pacific Palisades CA

Communication is one of the most important skills you can have as a caregiver for your elderly parents. Being able to interact with them effectively, relay important messages, and interpret what they have said to you is critical to maintain a good relationship and ensuring the best chances of achieving your care goals. Unfortunately, communicating with aging adults is not always as easy as you would like it to be. Cognitive limitations and personality differences can make effective communication a challenge, but taking the time to work through these challenges and pursue the goal of truly effective communication enables you to be the highest quality caregiver possible for your aging loved ones.

Try these tips to help you communicate effectively throughout your care journey:

• Listen first. Even when a conversation starts because you need to tell your elderly loved ones something, make listening your priority in the conversation. This allows you to hear what your parents have to say and gives you the opportunity to think through what you say more carefully so that you are as effective, clear, and controlled as possible in what you have to say;

• Do not confront. As soon as you make your parents feel like you are accusing them of something or placing blame on them, they will become defensive and close off to you. Instead of confronting your parents, even if you are trying to discuss something that is specifically about them such as their behavior or the way that they talk to you, turn the focus on yourself. Use the “when you – I feel – because” construct to form your conversation. For example, “When you insult me, I feel upset because I put a lot of effort into taking care of you” is better than “You make me really upset when you insult me;”

• Affirm them. Keep your parents listening to you and accepting what you have to say to them by offering affirmations throughout the conversation. Simply nodding, making supportive comments, and repeating things back to them shows that you are listening to what they have to say, internalizing it, and processing it so that you can take action;

• Avoid cornering them. No one likes to feel cornered or put on the spot. Avoid making your aging loved ones feel ambushed by your conversation by choosing your timing carefully. Do not have potentially charged or sensitive conversations with your parents when their elderly health care services provider, other family members, or friends are around, and give them plenty of introduction to the topic;

• Stay calm. Maintain control over the conversation by maintaining control over yourself. Even if your elderly loved ones start to get overly emotional, keep yourself calm and continue the conversation on a civil, adult level.

Get in touch with the elder care agency in your area to learn more about how you can communicate effectively within your caregiver journey, and about hiring a home care provider to give enhance your relationship with your parents through providing additional care and assistance.

If you or an aging loved one needs caregiver services in Pacific Palisades, CA, call Livewell Private Care at (310) 933-4986.  Servicing Los Angeles, CA and the surrounding areas.