We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. This helps support what we do and in no way costs you a thing. We are also NOT medical professionals - so any ideas we share or suggest have been based off our own research and experiences as caregivers. ALWAYS consult with your own medical team.
As our parents and those around their age group gets older, they have a passion for living at home instead of opting for a senior care home. They feel the confidence that if they are home, they will be happier thus live longer. However, it is not always as easy as it sounds because, at times, they require extensive care to stay in their home and don’t have anyone around.
Reaching 65 and over is the point where they have the hardest adjustments to make as they ponder their fate of staying at home or not.
How To Help Aging Parents Stay In Their Home
Based on reports from the American Associated of Retired Persons (AARP), even low-income earners or those living along the line of poverty prefer to stay at the place they called home for all those years.
However, children and others responsible for their elderly family members have noted the importance of keeping them where they are used to though it comes with lots of challenges. The question is often asked, “If they are to stay at home, what is required?” In keeping them at home, some individual decisions and plans must be put in place to ensure all is well. These include:
Providing Nutritious Meals Helps Stay in Their Home
When they plan to stay at home, plans have to be made to provide them with nutritious meals that their bodies will need to function. If they don’t have a set meal provider, connecting with a food-feeding program or ministry like “Meals on Wheels” should be considered.
Bear in mind their bodies can no longer produce the needed proactive cells to fight back viruses and other negative forces, and as such, the various nutrients will be needed to do the job effectively.
Supervised Medication
When they are at home, someone must keep abreast of their medication and ensure they always take them. Messing up medication schedules can harm the body and eventually be fatal.
As they go up in age, most elderly tend to lose their sense of memory, so they may even misplace their pills. Also, some take injections and will need assistance in performing the relevant processes. There should be an assigned help or arrange for an in-house nursing service to assist them.
Don’t Let Them Overwork
When looking at having them stay in their home, you have to step in and keep them from doing too much. There is always work to be done in the home from mopping the floors to dusting the tables and windows.
With your parents at home, you would not want them to be consumed with the household chores that will cause them to become overwhelmed and drained. You have to reduce or eliminate the workload by hiring a house cleaner to take care of the cleaning, washing, and sometimes cooking.
Also, getting the assistance of a landscaper will be great to take care of the weeding and mowing, and shoveling of snow in the winter. Of course, you may not be successful in taking it all away from them because they tend to have that level of “independence” in trying to do their work themselves.
Don’t Let Them Pay The Bills
In a time when scammers are on the rise, you may want to keep an eye on all those mail they pick up. Scammers have a way of making the “common bills look real” by addressing the phone or electricity company, and the elderly may not be able to tell the difference efficiently.
Millions are duped from the elderly each year because they are not aware of what they are spending their money on. Having someone around will provide guidance, or you can arrange for online payment so they won’t have to handle any cash.
After all, all that waste is bad for their finances, especially as they will need their money for future medical and other purposes.
Get Their Homes Senior proofed
There is nothing as hard as having a broken bone or hip to recover from, especially at such tender age. When your parents decide to keep living at home, one of the significant things you should consider is getting the house senior proofed.
By this, you can install rails on the stairs or sidebars along the walls for support. You may also want to fit elevated toilet seats so they won’t be pressured to sit low and put their selves at risk of falling.
If you live in a home with stairs, allowing them to stay on the lower ground may also be safer as it reduces the pressure to climb the excessive staircase.
The bottom line? We want them to be a safe as possible with diminishing physical capabilities. My dad couldn’t eventually walk three steps without resting, stairs were a nightmare for him.
Reduce Their Driving
Driving is one of the independent things that they never wish to give up because they always want to be mobile. However, at the rate drivers are now, it may not be so safe for them to be out there on their own. Just know getting the keys away from them won’t be so easy!
But, initiating a conversation before a serious accident happens is the key. There is a way to lighten their key grip: let them understand the reasons you are doing what you think is best. Make sure you offer alternatives. You can offer to take them on their appointments or hire a driver to take them around.
*Teach Them To Use Modern Technology
Technology is taking over the world and keeping your parents in the know is the best way going forward. With the use of technology, they will be able to stay in touch with friends and family through different platforms.
It also keeps them in the loop with the news, weather, their favorite games, and so much more. Technology will provide some level of comfort for them as if they can’t get to go out to get their papers or magazines; they can easily access from a tablet or computer.
The hard part of aging is being able to do it with dignity. If they truly want to stay in the home they grew up in then make it suit their needs. If not? look at moving them into one of their children’s houses. Being around family gives them comfort and lets them feel safe knowing they are around people who care for them. But that is a topic for another day.
