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As our parents age and reach their senior years, their health will begin to decline. This is a natural process that happens to everyone, but knowing that doesn’t ease the burden you will feel as you watch your elder parents suffer from cognitive and physical degeneration. While this is a difficult situation for you and your parents, you can use the following suggestions to help your senior loved ones age in place more safely.
Stay in Touch
One of the most important things you can do for your senior parents is to stay in touch with them. As people reach their senior years and others their age become seriously ill or die, they lose the ability to socialize with others. Socialization is essential in protecting against emotional health problems, such as depression, as well as protecting their cognitive health. Without that regular social interaction, your senior parents are at a higher risk for dementia and other diseases that affect memory, concentration, and reasoning. Simply visiting your parents on a regular basis will help them stay healthier for longer as well as increasing the likelihood that you’ll catch the signs of cognitive degeneration sooner.
Make the Home Safer
As you notice your senior parent’s physical decline, you should take the time to update their home with better safety measures. This should involve adding safety railings in critical places to help them move about more securely as they age in place. Consider helping your parents buy a standing bathtub or update their shower with more railings. You may also want to add additional lighting to hallways, stairways, and closets. Be sure to ask your senior parent for more ideas about safety features they would like installed in their home.
Talk About Downsizing
Many seniors find that their homes are too big for them after all of their children have moved out, and they’re alone to enjoy their retirement. You can make the experience easier and more enjoyable by talking to your parents about downsizing to a smaller place. They can sell or rent their existing home as they move into a smaller unit in a retirement community or within a condo association. This may require getting rid of some of their furniture and the clutter they have collected over the years, but having a smaller place that’s easier to clean can be a good trade-off.
Talk About Getting Help
There will also come a time when it’s important to discuss your senior parent’s future. You should discuss this concern with your parents well in advance to ensure the arrangements can be made before your senior parent suffers additional cognitive decline. You should offer the option of in home senior care because this is a cost-effective solution that will allow your parents to remain in their home. Explain to your parents that the only other option to ensure they receive good care is to move them into an assisted living facility. You can take your parents to tour nursing homes if that’s the option they choose. Conversely, you can conduct an interview with a representative from an in-home care service to give your parent an opportunity to ask questions.
Encourage an Active Lifestyle
Finally, it’s important to encourage your senior loved one to live an active lifestyle. They should go for walks, ride a bicycle, play tennis, and engage in other physical activities. Additionally, they should join activities that allow them to socialize with other people their own age. Many cities have senior citizen centers or adult daycares where older adults can go to play card games, board games, and join in other structured activities. You may have to give your parents rides around town to help them stay active, but the help you provide will enable them to stay healthier for longer.
Very few seniors accept help willingly simply because they don’t want to feel pitied. They want to continue doing things for themselves, so it’s important to avoid the temptation to take over their lives. Instead, try to work with them in implementing these suggestions. This will help them age in place with more confidence without posing a threat to their pride or independence.
