What Can You Do to Make Feeding Your Senior Easier for Both of You?

Feeding your aging adult can feel extremely awkward not just for you, but also for your elderly family member. How you move past the awkwardness is really important.

Choose Foods that Are Easy for Her to Eat.

Some foods are likely to be more difficult for your senior to eat than others. Anything that is crunchy or crumbly might be uncomfortable for her, especially if you’re feeding it to her. Talk to your elderly family member about which textures and types of foods are easier for her to eat when you feed her. You might both want to experiment a bit with different foods and textures in order find the right combination.

Use a Bit of Distraction.

One mistake that family caregivers often make when they’re feeding their aging adult is to focus too much on offering the bite and making the entire situation more of a production. Actually, a little bit of distraction can work wonders. Try asking your senior a question or starting a conversation, all while holding the spoon or fork up to her mouth. The conversation will help her to feel less self-conscious about the fact that you’re feeding her and you’ll probably get farther along than you have in the past.

Ask for Tips from People with More Experience.

Talking to your senior’s doctor or nurse can help quite a bit in terms of getting advice about feeding her properly. You might also want to hire home care providers to help you and your elderly family member out a bit. They have experience with feeding aging adults and they can give you some hands-on examples of what works best.

Keep Practicing.

When a situation is awkward or uncomfortable, a normal human response can be to avoid that situation in some ways. You can’t really do that with your elderly family member, though. She still needs to eat and you need to become comfortable with helping her to eat. Keep practicing, even if both you and your elderly family member are feeling awkward about the situation. Learn to find the humor in learning the ropes with feeding another adult and keep on going.

Feeding your senior is a great time for you to interact with each other and to bond. It’s also an important way for your elderly family member to get the nutrition that she needs, so doing what you can to help ensure that it’s comfortable and easy for her to eat is very important.

If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Lafayette Hill, PA, contact the caring professionals at Reliant At Home Care today (610) 674-6860 .