Aging is an inevitable matter everybody has to go through. As people age, they experience difficulties even with simple tasks of daily living. Even if they refuse to admit some of their incapability, elders need all the assistance they could get either from family or professionals. As your parents go through this period of late life, crucial decision has to be made as to the best senior care to provide them. The earlier you prepare for it, the better chance of your elders to live a more comfortable old age existence.
Even with the promise of “home away from home” living accommodation most retirement communities offer, there’s no substitute to family members taking care of their elders at home unless, of course, your loved ones need serious medical attention. A home care for your aging parents can be daunting but it’s still the most rewarding option.
What preparations should you need when you decide for a home care for your elders?
Communicate with your parents
As people age, they become vulnerable to changes. You can’t simply make alterations inside the house to accommodate their difficulties without informing them anything about your plan for a home care. They could possibly interpret it negatively as being a burden to the family and might result to a lower self-esteem. You definitely know your elders better than anybody else so you can easily find a strategic way of bringing the matter to them. A good communication with your loved ones would make matters easier. Let them know that you’d rather see them age at home than any other senior facilities around.
Keep the rest of the family informed
As deciding for a home care requires a lot of changes, it’s quite imperative for you to inform the rest of the family about the plan. A home care is not only between you and your elders but it’s a family affair and everybody should have a mutual agreement about the matter. They should be informed beforehand of the changes that would take place and that they should expect and understand some inconveniences that might occur during the process. It’s critical to have everybody in the household accepts the new arrangement and that patience and understanding play a vital role in making your elder’s old age life as convenient and comfortable as possible.
Redesigning for an elder-friendly house
Deciding for a home care entails house modifications to accommodate limited physical ability of your elders. Safety and convenience are major concerns you need to take into account as your parents move around the house. They need to have their bedroom on the ground floor if you have a multi-storey house to relieve them from the strain of climbing stairs. Obstacles and clutters need to be removed from their bedroom and other areas in the house they frequent to avoid slip and fall. Because they have decreasing physical ability, you should consider mounting grab bars to some areas you deem necessary most especially in toilet and bathroom to somehow alleviate them of mobility pressures.
Searching for professional help
Unless you commit yourself 100 percent to supporting your elder every step of the way, hiring a professional caregiver would eventually be an advantage to both your family and your elder. Having your parents in a home care can be physically and emotionally exhausting particularly if one or both of them are suffering from old-age-related diseases. Depending on your parents’ retirement plan and your financial capability, you should assess what type of a caregiver is appropriate for their present physical and mental conditions. With a caregiver around, you would somehow have peace of mind that your elders are in good hands when you’re out attending to personal needs. Getting a good caregiver should not be a major problem provided that you do your homework.
Your parents’ living and surviving old age need not be stressful and worrisome as long as they’re in the comfort of your own house with family and friends around. A home care for your aged parents entails inconveniences and additional cost but it’s the most fulfilling and rewarding option for a senior care.
