A Daily Caregiving Check-in
Because I want every family caregiver to feel the support of a daily check-in, I’ve launched Caregiving Check-In, available through my free online community, Caring Our Way.
“You’re the only one who reaches out to check on me.” ~ a member of my online caregiving community
“So many families with just themselves for support.” ~ Ken Reed, a family caregiver and soon-to-be Certified Caregiving Consultant, during our “Caregiving” Watch Party last night.
(“Caregiving,” a documentary produced by Bradley Cooper, aired last night on PBS. We gathered as a community in our chat room to watch the documentary together.)
In truth, when I cared for my parents, I reached out a lot to build support for myself. Rarely, though, did anyone send a text or call to check on me.
When we’re in an overwhelming, stressful situation like caregiving, we need a boost from a daily check-in, just to see how we are.
When we receive a check-in, we have an opportunity to share the details of our day and then release the stress of carrying around those stories.
Because I want every family caregiver to feel the support of a daily check-in, I’ve launched Caregiving Check-In, available through my free online community, Caring Our Way.
Because we want our check-ins to be convenient for you, you can choose how you check in:
1. You can simply stop in our space and share an update. Each day, we’ll have a poll or question you can answer.
2. If you’d like to keep your updates private, you can complete our simple survey and share about your day. You can choose to receive a copy of your answers in an email so that you have an ongoing record of your experience.
3. You can schedule a reminder to check in with us at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT, 4 p.m. PT). (We’ll add additional options once we feel we’ve got a nice system in place.) You can choose to check in daily or select the days you’d like reminders to check in.
If you’d like, you can do all three — stop in to share an update, complete our simple survey (it’s nice to have an ongoing record) and schedule reminders.
You also can post questions you may have about your situations. We’ll do our best to answer or refer you to another organization or program that can help.
It’s sooo nice when another checks in to hear how we’re doing. During the difficult days of caregiving, those check-ins become that much more important.
Our Caregiving Check-In joins our other programs that support family caregivers, including Dementia Family Care Support Program, CORE Stress Relief Pilot Program, Soul Breaks and Caregiver Support Live. In July, we’ll add a daily check-in for those adjusting to life after caregiving ends. You can access all our programs by joining us on CaringOurWay.com.
Who do you check in with during your day? Who checks in on you?
Join Caregiving Check-In.
This experience has taught me so much about how important it is to check in with the people we care about. The friends who do that for me, who send me a text asking how I am, or who make sure we schedule a monthly coffee, mean so much to me. Thank you for doing this.