Should a Son Provide Personal Care for His Mother?

More and more men are caring for their mothers.  Some even living with their mothers.  This sometimes results in reverse discrimination with the general public or neighbors believing that these sons are living off their mothers.  When does caring for a mother cross the boundary of personal dignity?  Is it appropriate for sons to provide personal care like bathing and incontinence care for their mothers?  It depends on the mother – son relationship and also how comfortable the son is in providing this care.  Another question is the level of detail or attention the son can and is willing to provide.  This is where the boundaries get a little gray.  Will a son thoroughly clean the private parts of his mother?  Will he apply lotion so there is no skin breakdown.  Thoroughly care for finger and toenails?  If any of this is in question it may be better to hire a female caregiver to provide this type of personal hygiene and care.  This is an important area of good caregiving that must not be neglected.

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