It’s only natural that your elderly parent will want to stay in their own home for as long as possible. After all, the investment they’ve made in it will have been an emotional as well as a financial one. While there may come a time when they need to move into assisted living facilities or a nursing home, there are many reasons why they should be able to remain living at home for as long as they can. In the majority of cases, all that’s required is a little help with some of their daily chores and other activities. If you’ve got an aging parent you want to help, you will find some ways you can do it below.
Make Their Home as Safe as Possible
This is the first place to start, and you’ll need to walk around their home and look for common safety issues. These might include rooms, stairs, and hallways that are cluttered, no handrail in the bathroom, poor lighting, overloaded power sockets, or rugs that could be trip hazards. These issues can be overcome with a few additions or changes. You should also install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Plus, if your parent has to negotiate stairs, there are many solutions which will make it easier for them to get upstairs, including a home lift.
Create a Checklist
A smart thing to do is to create a checklist that includes all the essential information about your parent. It might consist of personal information, home maintenance tasks, financial information, health, and transportation. There should be phone numbers of people that might need to be contacted and the location of any necessary documentation. Talk to your parent about their preferences with regards to hospital treatment and include it in your checklist. Should something happen to them and they’re unable to respond, your list will provide all the critical information.
Technology Can Make Their Life Easier
Technology has come on in a big way in the last few decades, and there are ways your elderly parent can take advantage of it. Home delivery for their household goods is a great way to ensure they never run out of the essentials. However, you might need to organize a tablet or laptop and help them understand how to use it. It’s also possible for you to program important numbers into a smartphone to save them looking for phone numbers when they need to get in touch with emergency services, their doctor or family members.
Create a Caregiving Plan
One last tip is to involve all the family in your caregiving plan. To be effective, it requires input from all members of the family, as well as close family friends and loved ones. There might be one person who takes charge, but everyone close to your elderly parent should have a say in their care. It might also help if you discuss your parent’s needs with their doctor. You may need to fill out some paperwork if you want to discuss medical information, but now is the perfect time to sort this out. To help keep your parent safe, you’ll need to know about specific conditions that may impact on their life at home. Poor balance, mental confusion, and decreased muscle strength can affect their safety if they continue to live at home.
