Home Care in Annandale VA: Family Meeting Tips

Set an Agenda from the Beginning

If you’ve got an agenda, it is so much easier for you to avoid trouble. The agenda lets you know what needs to be covered and how much further you have to go until the meeting concludes. That way if you get distracted or nervous, you have a way to keep yourself on track.

Keep the Past in Mind

While it doesn’t do anyone any good to remind people of their past mistakes, it does help if you can remember that some parts of the past don’t always rest easily. Your elderly family member might not have a great relationship with everyone in the family or there may be some family members who have to find blame everywhere. These facts help you prepare.

Stick to the Focus of the Meeting

When it’s time for the meeting, make sure that you stick to the main focus as much as you can. Some family members might try to derail the conversation or get into topics that just aren’t important right now. Gently steering the conversation back where it needs to be can do wonders.

Allow for Opinions from Everyone

Give everyone time to speak, but avoid allowing them to control the entire meeting. Some ways to do this are by setting a timer or even by calling on individuals to speak for a few minutes at the end of the meeting. Some family members may simply want to ask questions. For example, they may not understand what an elder care provider does, so they may not get why hiring one is important.

Keep Alcohol out of the Equation

This can be a touchy suggestion for some families, but consider whether having alcohol available would hurt your goals here. If it would lead to disagreements and conflict, it’s best to avoid having alcohol available at all.

Even if your family meeting does run into a problem or two, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a success, so keep trying. It’s far better to have a family meeting that went a little off the agenda than to stop having them at all.

If you or a loved-one are considering hiring home care in Annandale, VA, please contact the caring staff at Quality Health Services LLC.  Call today 703-910-7081.