Difference Between Caregiver And Caretaker | Key Areas To Focus On

The role is to be a helping hand, though, there’s a significant difference between caregiver and caretaker. A caregiver is ready to offer emotional and physical assistance to make your life seamless. The caretaker, on the other hand, performs a completely different task, and they offer a security service to protect your property. 

So, they’re not the same considering their working areas. And in this article, you’ll learn all the key differences that will help you easily differentiate these terms. Keep reading.

Comparison chart

Specifications	Caregiver	Caretaker
Purpose	Suppose to take care of individuals	Suppose to take care of both individuals and property
Payment Type	Paid/Unpaid	Paid
Growth	Help for emotional growth	Help for property growth
Characteristics	Extremely cooperative & flexible	A bit professional
Where to Hire From	Non-profit organizations	Agencies
Service Pattern	Visiting/Saty-On Basis	Stay-On Basis

Who is Caregiver?

Caregiver work on visiting or on a stay-on basis. You can get their service either at your homes by hiring them for hourly-based performance or can get the service at a nursing home. This all depends on your preference.

Purpose to Hire a Caregiver

You require a caregiver for the following purposes-

• If you have a baby and got to maintain a job, you need an assistant to take care of your child. In this scenario, hiring a caregiver would be a solution to your struggle.
• When you have an elderly person like a mom, dad, or in-law thinking of a caregiver will be precise.
• If you have any patients who need continuous observation, you can hire a caregiver

In this case, they will provide full support in timely meals, medicines, contacting doctors (if required), and other essential assistance. The person, no matter whether it’s a kid, elder, or patient, will be safe and secured under the caregiver’s observation.

Things to Consider Before Hiring A Caregiver

You should be careful about the caregiver’s previous professional background before you hire. And ensure the person is trustworthy. If you take the service from any nursing home, check out their service history and review the customers’ opinions. It will help you find an authentic and trusty institution quickly.

What is a Caretaker? 

When you need additional hands to take care of your property that should be taken proper care, you need to hire a caretaker. The Caretaker is responsible for ensuring that your property is in good condition and not under threat.

Purpose to Hire Caretaker

You can hire a caretake for different purposes, for example-

• If you live abroad and need a person to look after your entire home
• A caretaker can also be hired for different institutions like schools, colleges, mosques, temples, etc.

Since the caretaker is responsible to look after all sort of buildings, they will maintain your property through cleaning, repairing, painting, sealing cracks, clearing drainages and gutters, etc.

Things to Consider Before Hiring A Caregiver

You must check out whether the person you’ve chosen is eligible to take on your given responsibilities. Educational qualification is another important factor that you must consider. Most importantly, know about his working history and whether you can trust him. 

Caregiver Vs Caretaker: Key Areas Of Difference 

Major significant factors that make the difference between caregiver and caretaker are: 

1. Responsibilities

A caregiver assists individuals like kids, senior citizens, and patients.  He/she is also responsible for everything from bathing to having a meal. For kids, a caregiver will provide all the carings that a mother does for her kids.  

Again, if it’s about a patient, a caregiver will act as a nurse, from checkups to giving medicines. And, when it’s a psychologically depressed person to take care of, they will act like friends and help the patient to get well fast.

However, conversely, a caretaker is a person who is ready to serve according to your specific necessity. A caretaker usually offers service for land, buildings, and other stationary properties rather than individuals. This professional is responsible for ensuring your properties are fit to use any time you need.

2. Types

Both the caregiver and caretakers come in several types. The 3 considered types of caregivers are: 

• Professional Caregivers: If you want an experienced and highly reliable person, appoint someone from any non-profit agency.
• Family Caregivers: They come to serve without any payment. However, family caregivers aren’t trained as same as professional caregivers. So, professional caregivers are preferable.
• Volunteer Caregivers: If you want to get a free service with a professional attitude, you can look for a volunteer.

And the considered types of caretakers are: 

• Professional Caretaker: They are pretty professional in their attitudes and never cross their professional boundaries through their casual behavior. To hire a professional caregiver, you have to consult an agency.
• Non-Professional Caretaker: It can be anyone you know in your community. But, ensure this person is perfect to handle your given job systematically.

3. Growth

Caregivers contribute to building an individual’s mental/ physical growth. But, the caretaker won’t do the same instead, they will help you ensure your property (buildings/ lands) are well-maintained and safe from theft, robbery, or illegal claims from neighbors.

4. Payment

In terms of the caregiver, you can take the service free of cost in many cases. Because caregivers come to help people from the perception of humanity. Also, you can build a good relationship with them as they remain attached to people emotionally.

However,  you cannot expect unpaid service from a caretaker. Caretakers consider their service as their active profession and work in return for a specific amount of payment. 

5. Reliability

To ensure 100% reliability of their honesty and dedication, you must review the service history of both the caregiver and caretaker. Once you confirm your faithfulness, both the terms caregiver and caretaker come in good reliability.

6. Characteristics

Since the service pattern differs, both these professionals come with different characteristics. You’ll find a caregiver cooperative, and they offer assistance in terms of the individual’s needs. They care for what the person needs and what’s not.

On the other hand, the caretaker shows a professional attitude and likes to be in their role. Their boundaries are confined to a specific set of tasks.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

The difference between caregiver and caretaker comes in their given activities. Unlike caregivers and caretakers set financial expectations and work for money. A reliable caregiver is a good manager at planning and scheduling emergencies.

A good caretaker is a good manager at organizing information that they don’t want to scramble while dealing with the security of property.