'6 Tips On How To Take Care Of Your Parents In Their Senior Years

 With the elderly population steadily growing in most parts of planet Earth, we need to try and provide them with a quality living situation that will give them some sense of security and self-sufficiency. If you happen to love your parents very much and/or you spend a lot of time with them, then there are many things you can do to make their lives a bit easier and more fulfilling.

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Here are some useful tidbits of advice on how to take care of your elderly parents:

1. Make sure that they have access to good, nutritious food at all times. 

If you can, try and figure out what type of food they like the most and then cook as much as you can in order to supply them with what they like. If your parents like canned food, then you should try and find out which brands are the best and buy those canned foods on a regular basis for them. Find out if anyone else in the family wants to chip in by buying certain types of canned foods that your parents might like.

2. Be sure to get the proper insurance and health care coverage. 

If your parent requires caregiving outside of your area of expertise, or simply more time that you can give due to work or childcare, then consider hiring a home health care provider. Caregivers can be scheduled to come to the home to take care of your parent through home health care software. It has useful features that caregivers can utilize for note-taking, relaying client details about your parent to other carers, and more. A home health care provider will hopefully create a bond with your parent, therefore giving them something to look forward to when they visit.

3. Make sure that the house is in good shape.

If your parents still live in their own home, then you should make sure that it is safe and secure. You can do this by checking electrical outlets to make sure there aren't any missing or bare wires, checking the insulation to make sure that there are no signs of water damage or mold growing inside any walls, etc. If you notice anything that doesn't seem right then, you should contact a good home repair professional and ask them to take a look at what's wrong with the house. You might like to invest in a good walking stick for old people.

Repairing faults you notice may be instrumental in preventing falls, one of the most common threats that older adults face. According to the CDC, an older adult (at least 65 years old) suffers a fall in America every second of every day, making it the foremost cause of injury and death among this demographic. Luckily, you can easily prevent falls by ensuring that all stairs and hallways are well-lit and clutter-free. Also, remove all loose rugs from your parent's home or tape them to the floor, so they don't move when walked on. If falls do occur, many personal alarms have emergency buttons for elderly people to help them get the assistance they need.

4. Make sure your parents have access to reliable transportation if they need it. 

If neither your parents nor anyone else in the family can drive a car, then they should seriously consider getting rid of their car and trying to limit themselves from going out as much as possible. However, if someone in the family is able to drive them around without causing an accident or anything like that, then perhaps they can keep their car in good working order and use it when they need to pick up groceries or visit a doctor. You can also look into getting an Uber account for your parents so that they have access to reliable transportation at any time of day or night.

5. Hire someone you trust to take care of the housework duties.

For example, your parents might need help cleaning the house when it's time to do laundry or when they want to vacuum the floors. You can hire a maid service, just get someone you know and trust to help out with these types of chores and it will definitely be much cheaper than putting your parents in an assisted living facility. If they do have to live in a nursing home, remember that there is a nursing home abuse attorney for hire should you ever need one.

6. Make sure your parents get to see the proper doctors on a regular basis.

This will allow you to get all of your parent's health issues taken care of in one appointment instead of forcing them to make multiple trips to receive different treatments for their various conditions. If your parents are able to drive themselves, then you should encourage them after they get home from the doctor's office to go out and pick up their prescriptions.

 7. Help them with their plans for the future

Understandably a difficult conversation, it is important to begin the discussion of the future and what your loved one’s wishes are for when the unfortunate time of passing comes. It may be hard, but planning for seniors is an important part of being able to enjoy your remaining years comfortably and stress free. Figuring out funeral plans and the financials surrounding it may seem an impossible conversation, but once had, provides a sense of relief for everyone in the family.

In Conclusion 

It's important that you help your parents out as much as possible during their senior years if they are going to continue living their life at home. If your parents end up having to go into a nursing home, then it will be harder for you to get them the care that they need on a regular basis.