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Ideas for Dinner / Evening / Bedtime Schedule Challenges?
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: Dec 19, 2019 | Replies (15)Comment receiving replies
I am wondering if there is anything that you could do to defer some of these chores to a different time to reduce the amount of time you have to keep her entertained. Another poster commented that the sundown time is the hardest (which we experience as well). Maybe you could do more crockpot meals to minimize the amount of time you have to spend cooking or do the dishes after she goes to bed or the next morning? We use a meal delivery service that allows us to make meals quickly with minimal prep time because they come already assembled. That would reduce the time that you have to spend trying to keep her entertained and maybe make things a little easier on both of you. I am finding it helpful to steal some tricks from the days when I was parenting my kids and this is one of the things that helped back then.
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Thank you coloradogirl. When thinking about your ideas, I must confess that I enjoy doing daily chores (including making dinner) without having to stop and redirect my mom, and I'm wondering if I subconsciously resist "reducing the amount of time" I'm occupied by these things? I do remember as a young mom being frustrated in a similar way, but at least when my kids were little their attention spans allowed them to play with a toy, or each other, for a certain length of time. If I did implement some of your time-saving ideas, it seems like I'd have even more time I'd have to keep my mom occupied in the evening. Thanks for your thoughts.
Maybe I'll start a new discussion thread asking for sample dinner/evening/bedtime schedules and how others manage its challenges while also caring for an easily distracted person with dementia...