Four Steps for Facing the Driving Talk

By Care Street Home Care Staff | December 27, 2019 | Comments Off on Four Steps for Facing the Driving Talk

If you’ve been dreading talking to your senior about driving, you’re not alone. Try these ideas.

Try to Picture How She’s Feeling

Before you do anything, take a few minutes and try to imagine how your senior is feeling about all of this. Chances are very high that she’s not feeling great about the idea of not driving anymore. The logical assumption is that she wants to keep driving just out of stubbornness, but that’s rarely the real answer. There are a lot of other issues tangled up just in the idea of driving, like still being a valid member of society or feeling ignored. It’s really important for you to understand that going in.

You Need Lots of Facts

Facts are going to be where you succeed with this talk. You need to be able to share with her information about older adults and their ability to continue driving, what changes about driving as an older adult, and most importantly, what her driving is like lately. This might mean that you need to observe her driving and even talk to her doctor about how her health conditions impact her ability to drive.

Approach This Talk with a Couple of Variations of a Plan

By the time you’ve collected all of the information you need, you’ll probably have at least the bare bones of a plan in mind. When you go to talk to your senior, you need to have at least a couple of different plans mapped out, however briefly. What are your goals? If your main goal is to keep her safe, then your plan is likely going to consist of compromising about when she’ll drive and when she’ll let someone else, like senior care providers, do the driving. If you’ve decided she needs to stop driving entirely now, you need to make sure she has alternative transportation. Again, senior care providers can be an excellent choice.

Set Timeframes with Her to Revisit the Plan

If she feels as if you’re handing down a rule she has to follow, she might feel a bit rebellious about the whole idea. It’s much better if you’re able to come to an agreement together. Something else that helps is to set some timeframes for milestones. That way you can come back together, talk about what’s working and what isn’t, and modify the plan to make it better.

This isn’t going to be super easy, but it doesn’t have to be a fight, either. If your senior isn’t open to having this talk right now, you might be able to postpone it for a little while, as long as her safety isn’t in jeopardy.

If you or an aging loved one is considering senior care in Mercerville, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care today. Call (732) 607-8870.

Care Street Home Care Staff
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