A decline in our parent’s mental and physical vitality can result in drastic transformations to their standard of life, appearance, and also emotional well-being. So, staying aware of how aging can affect them can help us involve in suitable options for their healthcare.
As a caregiver, you are no doubt familiar with the difficulties of caring for an aging parent. The challenges and responsibilities can be overwhelming at times. If this is your first time caring for older parents, it may seem difficult to know how to proceed in order to ensure their safety and well-being.
In this guide, we will discuss how to provide care for elderly parents so that they can live the best life possible while still enjoying independence as much as possible. We also wish to offer the best lives to our parents as they have done enough and need to take rest for their well-being.
Things to consider while taking care of your parents:
Check their daily activities:
See if your parents daily living requirements are done effectively or do they need assistance in completing the tasks. Doing this will help you find the imbalances in their physical and emotional well-being. The basic activities that you need to look after are: bathing, personal hygiene, self-feeding, moving around, functional mobility, toilet hygiene, and dressing.
If you find that they have difficulties performing these daily activities, you need to look for solutions to take care of these activities. You might need to invest time by yourself or keep a family member present with them to assist them in completing the activities. You can also purchase equipment or accessories that facilitate these daily activities.
Check their instrumental activities:
Daily living activities that are related to independent functioning are known as instrumental activities. Here are some of the instrumental activities that you need to look at in your parent’s life.
- Home cleanliness and maintenance
- Running errands
- Managing finances and paying bills
- Taking medicines on time
- Communicating effectively with family members
- Cooking
- Shopping and purchasing essentials
It is essential to find that all these activities are taking place properly as they ensure the overall well-being of your parents. If you find even a little gap in any of them, then you need to look for a solution. Find ways, either through manual or technological support, to help your parents go through these instrumental activities.
Look after their living arrangements:
If you are not able to take care of your parents and they live in a retirement home, then you must visit them at least once every week. This will help maintain the connection with their loved ones and ensure that everything is going well. In case they wish to move back into their house after living in a retirement facility, make sure there is an appropriate caregiver available like nurses or professional caregivers who can provide assistance round the clock.
You need to know what type of senior care plan best suits your needs. There are different types of senior care plans such as assisted living facilities, independent lifestyles, etc., depending on how much support seniors want from others. Make sure you also find some good nursing homes through a nursing homes resource that consists of reputed facilities.
Discuss Healthcare Options:
Many people become caregivers without realizing that there are various options for healthcare available depending on your parent’s condition and ability to take medications, as well as other factors such as taste buds. It can be helpful to discuss these options together in order to find the most suitable plan for your aging loved one while maintaining optimal quality of life.
Finances :
When you add changes in your parent’s health care support and their well-being, your financial condition starts fluctuating. That is when you need to see if there’s any financial support that your parents can receive from the government programs. These programs can help you and your parents take several advantages, but only if they are eligible. Besides, you can actively assist your parents in handling their finances if they are no longer capable of handling them.
If you are the caregiver, then you may also be eligible for certain tax relief by claiming your elder parent as the dependent. Besides, you can also see that your parents are getting help during tax season from state or independent communities that offer free tax assistance to seniors.
Take care of their essential paperwork :
When it comes to paperwork, you must check whether everything is up-to-date and completed. You can talk with your parents about the paperwork they want to get done and work on it so that both of you achieve peace of mind.
Try to keep them active:
Keeping your elderly parents active and engaged in the community is important for their well-being and your own. Suggest them to participate in activities they can enjoy, such as volunteering or reading a book by themselves at home.
Create support:
When it comes to caregiving, you are not alone! You have created an excellent network of friends that will be happy to help out with chores when needed or even just lend a listening ear. Talk about how much time you need from each person and what tasks you would like someone else to do so that everyone knows what exactly is expected from them. This way, everybody feels more confident knowing how the task should be completed – this also saves on confusion later down the line if somebody has an unexpected change in schedule.
Conclusion:
We hope this guide helps you take all the necessary steps in taking care of your elderly parents.
