What to Do When They Say "I'm Fine"

Two words end most conversations in caregiving: "I'm fine." Behind them is rarely stubbornness. Behind them is the car keys, the house, the checkbook, and the right to decide.

Trade control for cooperation

Every request you make costs them something. Make the trade explicit and give something back: if they accept help with driving at night, they keep daytime errands. If they accept a check-in call, they choose the time.

Pick the hill

• Safety issues that could end a life: worth the fight
• Preferences you simply disagree with: not worth the relationship
• Anything that can wait a week: let it wait a week

"I'm fine" usually means "please don't take this from me."

And when the argument goes badly — because sometimes it will — go back the next day as family, not as an advocate. The relationship is the thing that has to survive this.