Pros and cons of being a caregiver in your home:

Pros:

There are many benefits and rewards for taking care of a loved one in your home.  First and foremost you have the assurance that your loved one is receiving proper care.  You don’t have to wonder if other caregivers are doing their job.  This is not to say that you will never leave the loved one but you are in charge.

The time that a caregiver shares with their loved one can be beneficial to both parties.  So much wisdom and love can be shared.  This can truly be an opportunity for people to come together.  If families can agree on arrangements it can be a wonderful bonding experience for the family to join in taking care of a loved one in need.

Cons:

According to the American Society on Aging three in four caregivers are women.    This makes sense due to the inherent nature of women to care and nurture others.  The downfall here is that women often give of themselves to the point of exhaustion.  Any caregiver needs to make sure to take care of themselves first and then for others.  A caregiver is not any good to anyone if they are too run down.  This is not, by any means,  limited to women.

To avoid burnout and exhaustion it can be vital to get respite care on a regular basis.  No one knows how hard it is to take care of someone 24 days hours a day until they are in the middle of it.  It is not easy to make time and arrangements for respite care but many organizations as well as friends as family are there to help the primary caregiver.

There are also financial burdens that come from taking care of someone in your home.  There are a few resources that will be covered in another article regarding funding, Medicare and other issues.