How to Care for Elderly Parents at Home
Aging is an undeniable fact of life that affects all of us as well as our families. As children, when we imagine our parents as seniors, we may not fully understand how their aging will affect them or us. However, someday, the effects of aging do become more prominent and long-term care does become a necessity.
Caring for our aging parents at home is often time first step in the long-term care plan for a senior. Compared to facility-based care, many of the seniors prefer home-based care because of the comforts of home. Mentioned below are some useful tips for adult children looking to take of their parents at home.
Taking care of your elderly parents at home can be as simple as talking to them regularly over the phone, assessing their conversational tidbits, or checking on their food habits. This will provide you a clear idea of how they’re doing. In some instances, however, this may not be enough. Often times, seniors struggling with their health tend to hide their problems on the phone. Therefore, physical surveillance is required to assess how well an independently living senior is doing.
Please remember that caregiving is a serious responsibility that becomes increasingly harder as our parents grow older. As time goes by, their needs grow proportionally. Your senior parents may need help with respite care on scheduled days of the year and a medical alert at all times in case of emergency. Financial support may also be needed for house cleaning, cooking, and engaging professional in-home care providers. Instead of taking everything on your shoulders, involve your entire family in the process.
At certain times, it will not be possible for you to do the things needed by your aging parents and this is where you will need a respite care provider. Some of these requirements include meal planning and preparation, extra help around the house, unplanned doctor visits, laundry, etc. If you plan to go out for a family vacation, you may seek help from a home care agency.
It has been observed that seniors often suffer from malnutrition. This is primarily because most of them don’t have the physical ability to shop and prepare their own food. This often makes them skip meals or opt for processed foods without any nutritional values. To save your elderly parents from this problem, find a way for them to have nutritious meals on a regular basis.
Independent living is certainly a great idea, but not at the cost of an engaged and active daily schedule. If it is not possible for you to reconnect your parents to the activities they once used to enjoy, hire a companion for this purpose.
The next important task for you is to make the home easily accessible and safe for your parents. Injuries resulting from a slip or fall can be extremely detrimental for seniors living at home. The majority of these steps require no more than minimal DIY skills. However, some structural modifications may also be required.
As time goes by, getting around becomes more and more difficult for seniors. Therefore, you must also arrange a safe and affordable senior transportation option.
Unfortunately, taking care of a senior parent may sometimes appear to be financially impossible. However, there are numerous available resources for aging parents at home.
Finally, schedule a consultation with some renowned local home care agencies and invite no-obligation quotes from them. There are endless things you can do to provide better care to your aging parents and we have only could covered a few of them. If you want to find out more, seek help from Caring advisor.