When you think about your parents, what comes to mind are those strong parents who always took care of you. Coming to terms with the fact that they might need your help may be the furthest thing from our minds. But as they age, parents need to be taken care of in a way that will allow them to feel important and at the same time retain a sense of their independence. In addition, you will need to ensure that they stay comfortable, healthy, and safe.

Figuring what your parents need and how to approach them, especially when they haven’t asked for your help, will need perfect balancing. You will need to understand what they are going through, their needs, and the available options and then decide what will leave all the parties in agreement. But, on the other hand, you will need to focus on something concrete that will make it possible to remain in control of the situation.

You do not need to feel overwhelmed, and at the same time, your parents don’t need to feel like you have taken over their life. Instead, you can use the following steps when it comes to taking care of your parents, steps which will allow you to have a realistic plan and at the same time let your parents retain their sense of well-being and independence.

Take Note of your Parents Needs

When your parents start to age, you will need to note everything around them. Are there some things that are making their lives miserable? Take time to understand what their daily life is like, and once you have a clear understanding of what they need, then come up with ways to make their lives more comfortable.

Take a Look into Their Medical Needs

Do your parents require specialized medical care? If they are, take an active role by accompanying them to their doctors’ appointments. Remember to have their medications on time and also ensure that they take on the recommended diet. Most of the time, you will realize that an excellent medical regimen requires one to eat healthily. You do not have to become a health nut to them; let them indulge in something they love but ensure they keep to the recommended diet once in a while.

Check On Their Mobility

You will need to check if your parents can move around comfortably. This includes checking if they are unsteady as they walk if they have any difficulty sitting or rising from a chair. Sometimes they may be suffering from muscle weakness, neurological challenges, and joint problems, among others. You will have to find the root course of the mobility problem as these can be addressed and avoid having to send them home for the elderly or not.

Since mobility may cause falls in the elderly, you need to be extra careful as their bones break easily and take longer to heal. A fall may lead your parents to spend the rest of their life in a wheelchair and sometimes to their untimely death. Therefore prevention is crucial when you take them to the doctor for their kidney, heart, or liver screening; ensure the doctor checks on their mobility as well.

Meal Preparation

One of the significant red flags that your parents’ health is in jeopardy is when they start failing to eat properly. It is a problematic scenario watching your caring parents turning away food and at the same time losing weight. This may be due to several reasons like:

  • The medication they are taking.
  • Loss of taste and smell senses.
  • Physical challenges.
  • Lack of coordination in the kitchen makes it harder for them to prepare meals.

You can take care of these challenges by taking part in the meal preparation and learning what is bothering them. Think about ways to serve them with meals that have high nutritional density rather than on the size of the portion. This way, they will take less food but have something that covers their nutritional requirement.

If the situation needs you to hire a home care service, discuss it with them. You can have someone come over and help when you are not available. Remember not to be overbearing when it comes to their diet and want someone new in their kitchen. If they don’t like the idea of a newcomer at home, then you can try to involve other family members to chip in and help with meal preparations.

How Much Family Support Can They Have?

As your parents age gracefully, they will need the whole family’s support; this will prevent them from feeling lonely and offer much-needed comfort. Sometimes they may feel disconnected from their adult children who are busy raising their families, and this calls for you to come up with ways to balance your family life and at the same time be involved in your parent’s life.

Whether you choose to engage the services of caregivers like Mom’s Home Care, you should know that nothing will ever replace family support for the elderly. However, your parents will ease dealing with you and other family members as they trust you. In addition, you can understand their clues without being told what they want, which may help retain their dignity.

Also, family members can assist the caregivers by explaining what their parents prefer, which will ease the transition for both the caregiver and your parent. Make sure to call regularly if you cannot visit your parents and know what is happening in their daily lives. This will make them feel loved and appreciated. Also, when visiting them, take your children and partner with you as they will make the visit more enjoyable for all of you.

Ensure Their Home Safety Is Top-Notch

When it comes to home safety, you will ensure that your parent’s home is safe for them. You can achieve this by removing all fall hazards from the house, like throw rugs. Also, take time and clean up any clutter, which includes loose clothes, newspapers among others. You can also remove some unnecessary furniture, creating an open place where both your parents can walk freely.

Remember to remove any extension cords from the floor as they may trigger a fall, and wear comfortable footwear while in the house.

As your parents’ age, consider purchasing a basic model phone that will be easy to use and ensure to keep all the emergency numbers nearby. A basic model comes in handy if you notice your parents struggling to use a phone with many features. For example, if your parents have poor eyesight, consider installing a call display that will make it easy for them to recognize a call from a family member and strangers.

Another aspect to consider when it comes to your parents’ home safety is to ensure that their home is protected against fire. You can achieve this by ensuring that all electrical cords are in good working order, and if you find any that are frayed, you should replace them immediately. Try to limit the number of electrical cords plugged into the power strips. When you realize your parents’ memory is not as good as it used to be, remove any candles as they may be left unattended, setting the place on fire. Minimize the use of space heaters, and if your parents insist on having them, then ensure that they are far away from curtains or furniture.

Install a Safe Bathroom

One of the reasons an elderly parent will want to stay at their house is to ensure they continue using the same space they have been using. The majority of older people do not like changes, and if your parents fall under this category, you will need to ensure that their house is friendly and safe for them. A bathroom can be one of the riskiest places in their house. You will have to ensure that your parents are safe from falling or receiving burns while in the bathroom.

When installing a nice bathroom for your elderly parents, kindly ensure to:

  • Have the thermostat set at a range that will prevent high temperatures, leading to accidental burns.
  • Install a walk-in model instead of an original bathtub.
  • Have grab bars installed beside the toilet and also in the shower.
  • Place rubber mats in the bathroom to prevent slipping.
  • If your parents have dementia, remove the bathroom mirror as they may be affected when they find an unfamiliar face staring back at them.

Take Note of the Lighting

Sometimes aging is accompanied by poor eyesight, and this calls for you to check on the lighting at home. You can ensure that the lighting does not affect them by installing new eye-friendly lights that are not too bright or dim. If you find burnt-out bulbs, replace them and test them to ensure they provide the necessary lighting. You can do this by standing on one side of the house, checking and checking if the light is dark or too bright, and then adjusting accordingly.

Have a Clear Understanding of Both Your Finances

When you consider taking care of your parents, you will need to understand your finances clearly. No matter how small the changes you intend to have at their place, they will cost you money. This, therefore, calls for proper planning, and you cannot attain this without involving them. Unfortunately, some parents will refuse to have some much-needed changes done at their house as they fear the cost or the burden it will put on your shoulders.

From their medical expenses to having their home upgraded to accommodate them comfortably, you will need to assess how much it will cost you. You should bear in mind that most medical cover providers charge high premiums to older people with medical expenses. Therefore, do not develop plans that will drag you down financially or wipe out your parents’ pension.

Include Your Parents in the Decision Making Process

You will realize that most of the changes you want in your parents’ life will directly affect them. Therefore, you will need to involve them while making these decisions, making them feel part of the decision-making. Nobody wants to lose their independence, and when you go ahead and make some decisions without involving them, you make them feel out of control, and they may reject your ideas.

Involving parents in decision-making will make them contribute to what they think will be of use to them and feel appreciated. It will not be smooth sailing as they will be opposed to changes in their lives, diet, home, and the like. Therefore, you can start small, involve them in something that they will not oppose too much, and then implement more changes as time goes by.

Make Sure they Keep their Social Interactions

With age comes a sense of loneliness, and this can affect your parents’ mental health significantly. However, when your parents engage in various social interactions, they lead a fulfilled life that will give meaning to their lives. Social interactions help most older people to maintain excellent physical and emotional health, which translates to a quality life. It will also reduce the risk of high blood pressure, dementia, and arthritis. Your parents are also at reduced risk of depression when they keep an active social life.

You can facilitate their social interactions by driving them to and from the meeting place. If you cannot drive them, you can hire a caregiver to drive them to the place they need to be. Sometimes your parents may insist on driving, and you can come up with a compromise where they drive to the venue but have a driver drive them back if they tire on the way. This way you will have peace of mind and your parents will retain some of their independence.

Contact a Home Care Service Provider Near Me

When you decide to help your aging parents, it is a tough decision that will require much thought. You will need to evaluate their living conditions, finances and also involve them. You can make most of the decisions, but you need to consult with someone who understands what you want to accomplish. At Mom’s Home Care, we will advise you on ways to help your aging parents. We will also offer to take care of them during this transition time.

With aging parents, we recommend that whatever change you want to bring into your parents’ life, however deserving, should not disrupt their daily life unnecessarily. You should also not jeopardize your life but have a balanced life as well. Our caregivers at Mom’s Home Care will offer professional help if your parents are suffering dementia or you are away, and you want someone to watch over them in Los Angeles.

Sometimes your parents may lose mobility, and you want someone to move them from one point to another, or someone they will be comfortable bathing them in if they can’t. You can contact us at 323-244-4789 for a consultation and to receive advice on how to help your aging parents. Feel free to ask any question plaguing your mind when it comes to your parents’ well-being.