However, have you ever considered how your aging parents feel? To be displaced to an unfamiliar place. To get separated from their family at an age when every hour spent with family matters.
Yes, it’s for their own good, and their safety takes precedence over their emotions. But is there really no way to both ensure their well-being while also being with them at home?
Fortunately, there are ways to make caring for your elderly parents at home possible. It will probably take some effort, but if you’re willing to do it, then it’s totally worth it. In fact, it would be our pleasure to share these steps with you down below.
Make Your Home Senior-Proof
If there are ways to make your home safe for little ones and pets, then there are certainly ways to make your home safer for your aging parents as well, such as the following:
- Keep the little ones and pets under control. Speaking of kids and furry friends, make sure that they have a secure area to roam into without bothering your aging loved one. Their fast, unpredictable movements, along with their cluttered toys pose serious fall risks.
- Secure floor decor, cords, and furniture. Keep cords out of the way. If you really must have them there, it would be safer to put a rug on top of it to prevent anyone from tripping. Speaking of rugs, you also want to secure your floor decor and make sure that it won’t slip. Finally, it is also a good idea to fasten furniture in place just in case your elderly parent holds on to it to regain balance.
- Use non-slip tiles and mats in the bathroom. A lot of accidents can happen in the bathroom and all because of water and soap. You can easily minimize them with non-slip tiles and mats.
Seek Help
We understand how challenging it can be to care for an aging parent. There certainly is no shame in sharing the burden with others. While it’s going to be more cost-efficient to take turns with a sibling or another relative, we still highly recommend investing in a skilled in-home caregiver.
You will also be pleased to learn that there are organizations that offer low-cost (or sometimes even free) companion care. Online communities may be a good source of information to learn of such opportunities.
Don’t Forget Their Quality of Life
It’s understandable to think that securing your aging parent’s safety and medical needs is enough, but in reality, these are simply their basic needs. These are the things they need to survive. Ensuring their quality of life is another thing. You also want to keep them mentally stimulated and happy as well.
Thus, here are more tips to make their remaining years of being with you worth living:
- Give them something to do. Retirement can be pretty boring. Fortunately, there are still plenty of things that even the elderly can do. There are places to see and hobbies to enjoy. In fact, there are even jobs for seniors available for retirees who are looking into actively earning again.
Plus points if you can find an activity that will get their mind and body working, to the best of the current capacity of course.
- Help them find their tribe. If there’s one benefit of moving to a nursing facility, it’s being in a community with people who can relate to the things that you’re going through. However, keep in mind that a senior’s “tribe” doesn’t necessarily mean being with others of the same age. It can also be being a part of a local organization, serving at church, or even supporting a cause that they hold dear.
- Improve their meals. A senior’s life isn’t just boring, it can be bland too一especially their food. After all, most of them have strict dietary requirements. This doesn’t mean that they can’t have tasty meals.
There are a lot of healthy yet delicious recipes you can follow online. Those who have the budget can even sign up for a meal subscription program specifically for seniors where you can get diet-compliant ready-to-eat food delivered straight to your doorstep.
Don’t underestimate the power of food as it can significantly impact the quality of one’s life.
- Set aside some quality bonding time. Finally, the main reason why you have all decided for your aging loved ones to stay home in the first place is to give your family a chance to make the most of their remaining years. All will be for naught if you don’t make an effort to create memorable bonding moments. It doesn’t have to be extra special, like an out-of-town trip. There are times when just a meaningful conversation of sweet memories is enough.
Caring for another person, regardless of their physical state and age, will always have its challenges. Thus, you can expect that the road ahead is not going to be easy. We are confident that everything is going to be alright, though, especially if you keep the tips for aging in place that we have just shared with you in mind. Good luck!
