Does Grandma need help? Make a Daily Call the Beginning of the Conversation

Even though Grandma didn’t want to come for all the family gatherings recently, you made time to go over to her house with a nice lunch a couple of weekends. Most of the time, when people start out a conversation that I way, I just wait, because there is going to be a wrinkle in the brow and a statement similar to, “she seems okay, but something just isn’t right or doesn’t feel good.” Often children or grand-children of aging adults can’t quite put their finger on what “doesn’t feel good.” It could be an accumulation of things like:

• The house is in disarray
• The mail is stacked in piles
• Pill bottles are open or spilled or empty
• The refrigerator and pantry have really old food or are dirty or empty
• Personal grooming has deteriorated
• There is no talk of friends, activities or interests
• There is little, if any, conversation

All of these examples, alone or in combination, give you the feeling that it may be time to give Grandma some help. But – and this is the big question, just how do you start the conversation? Grandma has always been the strong leader, the matriarch, and even though her situation has changed, her attitude may not have changed when it comes to her place – and yours.

A good starting point is to suggest something like Keeping in Touch Solutions. Care Callers make a daily call to engage your loved one in conversation, check on their well-being and even make reminders about meals and medication. That one daily call breaks up the quiet hours in the day. It encourages and emboldens seniors to brave interactions with others, maybe even helping to build enough confidence to go to the local senior center for an activity or meal.

Best of all, the daily call made by Keeping in Touch Solutions provides peace of mind for you because someone is checking in with Grandma and spending some quality conversation time. If there is a concern, you are notified right away.

Grandma will come to look forward to the daily call and appreciate the difference a kind voice and a chat can make for her. It may be the opening of the door for Grandma to accept help in other ways, too. It’s a way to start the transition from her caring for everyone else to others giving her the help she has come to need – and deserves.

A daily check-in call could be the lifeline, the joy you give someone that makes the biggest difference in their perception of what old age is like.

Contact me at 317-480-1038 today. Let’s make a difference together.

I’m Diana Beam, Founder of Keeping in Touch Solutions. It is my heartfelt desire for every person to live a happy and healthy life in the place they call home, no matter what their age. You can’t put a price on peace of mind for your parents and yourself. It’s priceless . . . and significant.

For that reason, the goal of every Keeping In Touch Solutions program is to provide a caring connection and service that both the elderly and their caregivers can rely on to make living that good life easier.