During the day, your parent may still seem to be managing reasonably well. But nighttime can reveal needs that aren’t obvious when family members typically visit. Mom may struggle to get to the bathroom safely. Dad may wake confused and begin walking through the house. A parent with dementia may need reassurance when they wake and don’t understand why they’re alone. When those needs continue throughout the night, 24-hour home care can provide awake assistance during the hours when family can’t always be there.
Adult Alternative Home Care provides around-the-clock care using caregivers who rotate 8- or 12-hour shifts. This means someone is awake and available during the night as well as throughout the day.
Look at What Happens After Bedtime
If you’re trying to determine whether your parent needs more care, don’t evaluate only what happens between breakfast and dinner.
Consider the entire night. Your parent may need help getting out of bed or using the bathroom. Dementia may contribute to nighttime wandering or confusion. Someone who wakes disoriented may need another person nearby for reassurance.
Some signs that nighttime needs deserve more attention include:
- Frequent difficulty getting to or using the bathroom
- Wandering or confusion after bedtime
- Repeated nighttime calls to family for help or reassurance
- A spouse regularly waking to provide assistance
Family members taking turns staying overnight because leaving your parent alone no longer feels reasonable
When you’re building your own life around making sure someone is always with Mom or Dad, it’s worth considering whether the family needs more support.
Know the Difference Between 24-Hour and Live-In Care
Families sometimes use “24-hour care” and “live-in care” interchangeably, but there is an important distinction.
With 24-hour home care, caregivers rotate shifts so someone remains awake and available around the clock. Live-in care includes required sleeping and break periods for the caregiver.
That difference matters when your parent regularly needs assistance during the night. If Dad needs help toileting at 2 a.m. or Mom tends to wander at 4 a.m., your family may need care designed specifically to provide awake overnight assistance.
The question isn’t simply whether someone should be in the house. It’s whether your parent needs someone awake and available when a need arises.
Consider What Your Parent Needs During the Day, Too
Nighttime concerns may be what finally makes a family consider 24-hour home care, but they are rarely the only needs involved.
Your parent may also require assistance with personal care, mobility, meals, household routines, or companionship during the day. Around-the-clock care means assistance can continue as the day moves from one routine to another instead of disappearing at a particular hour.
Depending on your parent’s needs, that support may include:
- Walking and mobility assistance
- Bathing, dressing, toileting, and transfers
- Meal preparation
- Medication reminders
- Light housekeeping and laundry
- Errands and transportation
- Companionship
For a parent who wants to remain at home, having this level of assistance can make familiar routines more manageable without requiring family members to cover every shift themselves.
Recognize When the Family Is Doing Too Much
Families often create their own version of around-the-clock care before they ever call a home care agency.
You stay with Dad Monday through Wednesday. Your sister takes Thursday and Friday. Someone covers the weekend. Or Mom’s spouse sleeps lightly every night because they’re listening for movement from the bedroom.
You may be able to sustain that arrangement for a while. But providing care 24 hours a day is very different from stopping by several times a week.
Sleep matters. Your job matters. Your marriage and children matter. So does having time with your parent that isn’t entirely consumed by caregiving responsibilities.
Professional care doesn’t replace the family’s role. It can make that role more sustainable.
Let Home Continue to Feel Like Home
A need for continuous assistance doesn’t automatically mean your parent has to leave home.
For some families, increasing support at home provides another option. Mom can still wake up in her own bedroom. Dad can sit in the chair he has used for years. Meals, personal routines, and quiet evenings can continue in familiar surroundings.
The difference is that your parent no longer has to manage difficult parts of the day or night entirely alone.
When Care Needs Don’t Stop at Bedtime
Deciding that your parent needs care around the clock can be emotional. It may feel like a significant change because it is one. But it can also be an acknowledgment that the arrangement your family has been trying to maintain is no longer enough.
Adult Alternative Home Care’s 24-hour home care uses rotating caregivers so someone is awake and available throughout the day and night. For a parent who needs assistance with nighttime toileting, wandering, confusion, personal care, mobility, or other ongoing needs, that availability can provide the additional support necessary to continue living at home.
You don’t have to wait until everyone in the family is exhausted to admit that Mom or Dad needs more help.
Sometimes increasing care is exactly what allows your parent to remain where they most want to be.
If you are considering 24-hour home care in Chatham, NJ, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Adult Alternative Home Care today. (888) 664-1769
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