Caregiving

 
Welcome to BlogHer Moms, With Editor Stacy Morrison
BlogHerMoms wants to serve and serve up mommies, mamacitas, mas, hot mommas, and muthas (you know who you are). Plus green moms, soccer moms, pregnant moms, birth moms, working moms, homeschooling moms, single moms, step-moms, PTA moms, lesbian moms (and dads), need-a-night-out-with-the-girls moms, mom-in-every-way-but-the-name moms, mythical super-moms and for everyone who’s ever wanted to be called “mommy.”

Recent Comments on Caregiving

More >
 
Show: Editors' Picks | Member Posts | Network Posts | All Posts

Taking Away Mom's Keys: How Old Is Too Old to Drive?

5/22/12 7:16am by sfiberworks
  • 36
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
how old is too old to drive

For the interrogation, a lady with a clipboard asked politely if I would "step away" from the window so she could interrogate my mother about what happened when she drove her car into the wall of the carpet store. When she mistook the gas for the brake pedal. I sat on a bench -- just within earshot of my mother referring repeatedly to the brake as the "clutch." What she learned to drive on what, a good, 75 years ago? I wanted to pinch her. I could swear, above all the raucous of sorry waiting souls in this enormous DMV room, I could actually hear the mad scribbling of Clipboard Lady. "So you weren't driving a standard then." "What standard? I was driving my car."  Read more >

Coping with the Stresses of Elder Care: Speaking Up for Yourself

2/8/12 8:45am by Dina Bennett
  • 8
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
speaking up for yourself

In my previous post about elder care issues, I came up with 10 ideas for managing the stresses of being a caregiver or care manager for elderly or ill parents. Here's the first one from the list: Learn how to speak up for what you need and what you want. Why is this even important? Whether it's leaving a doctor's office with a clear understanding of a medical issue, or knowing for certain that your parent's laundry will be done regularly, knowing what you want and asking for it is the best way to clean up your To Do list.  Read more >

Father of the Year, or Creepy Man at the Playground

1/26/12 10:00am by kikimojo
  • 25
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
creepy dad

The other day Rob and I took the kids to the playscape at a nearby mall. Within five minutes, Rob was the pied piper to half a dozen kids who were alternately chasing him and being chased in a colossal game of hide and seek. Our boys, of course, loved every minute of it, and I loved watching how other kids were drawn into the mix. My favorite moment: twin girls followed him, saying, "Monster! Monster! Chase us!"  Read more >

You Think Flying with Baby Is Hard? Try Your 90-Year-Old Mom!

1/19/12 4:00pm by Victoria Pann
  • 15
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
baggage claim

To all you people who think traveling on an airplane with children is difficult: ha, ha, ha, ha. Just dress 'em up cute, and you're golden. If they are age 5 or so and give them a bag of caramels and a packet of Go Fish cards. Then, when you don't get to sit together, the child can ask the 28 year-old man next to her if he wants to gamble for caramels. Not that her parents ever taught her to gamble, mind you. The child and the man will both be amused the whole flight. Don't ask me how I know this. But the story today is at the other end of the spectrum. I still followed my credo of dress 'em up cute, but in this case, Mom wore her warmest, prettiest sweater.  Read more >

Mommy, Why Does Daddy Forget Me? Parenting with a Traumatic Brain Injury

12/1/11 9:00am by jpshaw
  • 10
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
TBI

"Mommy why does daddy forget things?" It's a question I'm not alarmed by, especially from my five-year old. Answering, however, is a whole lot more difficult. Daddy has a brain injury isn't exactly the perfect answer for an inquisitive child looking for in-depth answers as to why daddy sleeps longer than most daddies or cannot play with him like he wants him too because he can't focus long enough, or that he picks fights even at times, dropping himself to the same level as our kids because relating to children isn't always an easy scenario for FD.  Read more >

An Important Caregiving Tip: Ignore the Guilt

11/10/11 12:00pm by Geriatric Care Management
  • 5
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
Caregiver

Caregivers have to deal with a lot of "stuff" -- and sometimes that's guilt being directed at the caregiver by their aging parent. Maria at Geriatric Care Management shares memories of how her paternal grandmother used to treat her mother -- and how her mother taught her a very important lesson about guilt and caregiving.  Read more

Moving Home to Take Care of My Mom

11/7/11 12:00pm by JennaHatfield
  • 11
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
Moving home

What would it take for you to leave the beautiful land of California to move to the Midwest -- as fall is already turning to winter? It would take something bit, wouldn't it? What about caring for your aging mother with moderate dementia? Yeah, that'll do it, won't it? Nancy Wurtzel at Dating Dementia is doing just that. Despite leaving behind Trader Joe's, she's doing what needs to be done.  Read more

When Your Husband Doesn't Want More Children

11/4/11 8:34am by kikarose
  • 23
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
Father/son

"It's a boy."The news came through on Facebook—telegraph of our generation—and my heart plummeted.As gloom settled over me I honestly thought that it was sadness for her that brought me down. My friend had so desperately hoped for a girl, I was heartbroken for her. A boy. Her third. And then, later, after receiving a gushing text, overflowing with love for her new baby boy, and noticing that my gloom only deepened, I realized that my sadness was for me, not her.  Read more >

Turf Wars, Nanny Style: Why Won't They Talk to Me?

11/3/11 4:24pm by OMGhada
  • 5
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
Nanny turf wars

We have a lease on our present apartment til December 1st, the plan is that by that time not only will we have a new addition to the family, we will have decided where we want to settle in New York City permanently. It’s not that I don’t like what the Upper West Side (UWS) has to offer -- lots of kid’s classes, parks, proximity to Central and Riverside Parks, the many different playgrounds and cafes, restaurants and stores that cater to kiddies all within walking distance. But there is one big thing that I don’t like: the nannies.  Read more >

Becoming a Caregiver Is Difficult: Tips to Ease the Transition

8/30/11 10:17am by NurseBarb
  • 0
  • Sparkle (
    )
     
Caregiving is hard

Survey after survey finds that when a family member needs care and their adult children take on the role, they're often woefully unprepared. Why is there so much surprise? The fact is that most people who are providing some or all of their parent's care are not trained nurses. It's unrealistic to expect someone who's never cared for an elderly person or one with dementia to become a competent, nurturing caregiver with unlimited patience who knows about nutrition, medications, bathing, treatments, sleeping and every other aspect of daily life, not to mention all of the financial issues, appointments and housing issues.  Read more >