Jul 11, 2022
In part 2 of this “Becoming a Caregiver” series, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares tips she’s learned for caring for aging parents. Becoming a caretaker often happens unexpectedly and it’s helpful to have an idea of what it might look like.
5 Lessons Learned:
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You Can Hire Caretakers. Depending on the level of care needed, having a hired caretaker can be really helpful. You can find live-in caretakers if needed. You can hire through agencies or you can hire directly. Background checks and reference checks are important.
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Document Everything. I used Trello to track conversations with doctors, keep track of phone numbers, etc. This is an easy way to share information with siblings, etc.
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Meal Plans are Helpful! Whether or not you’ve hired a caretaker, using a meal plan to organize meals for the household is very helpful. Our Prep Dish meal plans make it easy for someone to jump in and help.
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Try Therapy: Therapy can be very helpful as you process things emotionally. Specifically, the EMDR approach has been helpful for me.
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Treasure: Try to find moments to treasure amidst the chaos. Take photos and find simple activities you can do together. If a parent is living with you, it can be hard but it can also be an opportunity to form new memories together.
Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/
Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text
the word mealprep to 33777
Resources mentioned in this podcast:
Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two
weeks of free meal plans!
Trello: https://trello.com/
EMDR Therapy: https://www.healthline.com/health/emdr-therapy#:~:text=What%20is%20EMDR%20therapy%3F,don't%20process%20them%20completely.
How Will You Measure Your Life? (book): https://www.amazon.com/How-Will-Measure-Your-Life/dp/0008316422/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1654974194&sr=8-1