According to AARP statistics, more than one in five Americans is a family caregiver who cares for an adult or a child. Taking care of your elderly parents is an important part of your life. You get the chance to try your best to repay the efforts of your parents in looking after you during your childhood.
But keep in mind that taking care of elderly parents can take a toll on your life.
Having access to the right information and proper planning can help you provide the best for your parents without compromising your life. Keep reading to find fourteen tips that will make it easier for you to take amazing care of your parents in this article!
1. Assess their needs
If you don’t know what the basic needs of your parents are, you won’t be able to help them properly. Learn what your parents need the most before you put your time and effort into looking after your parents.
For example, if one of your parents suffers from a severe healthcare problem, identify what you can do to alleviate their pain and help them.
Your parents might still need help if they are physically and mentally fit. Identify if they need your help in any walk of life and do your best to play your part in making things better for them.
2. Set up their living area
A good living area can help your parents enjoy their life and make caregiving easier for you. But what if you don’t have a room for your parents? A room upstairs or the basement is not the best place for your parents.
If you don’t have enough space, having a modular cabin for your elderly parents is a good option. You won’t have to spend a lot of money on building a new room, and the cabin will be perfect for setting up a proper living area for your elderly parents.
3. Take care of their diet
An improper diet that lacks nutrients and has excessive fats can make your parents more likely to develop healthcare problems. Play your part in improving and managing the diet of your parents.
Packaged food items are not good for elderly people. Fresh meals are easier to digest for elders and provide balanced nutritional value.
Your parents might not want to cook meals for themselves due to health conditions or other problems. Try preparing the meals for your parents yourself, so they don’t have excuses to skip healthy foods.
4. Include physical activity in their life
The modern sedentary lifestyle can prove horrendous for your parents.
Encourage your parents to add healthy physical activity to their life. You can enroll your parents in a gym near your home. You can also set up a small gym at your home if you can’t pick up and drop your parents off at the gym.
Doing exercise might be a problem for your parents due to age-related problems. You should set an appointment with your parent(s) with a physiotherapist in such a case.
5. Encourage them to stay social
Lack of interaction with friends or age fellows can make your parents feel lonely. It’s therefore important to help your parents stay social.
Take your parents to social gatherings in your area. If there’s a club for retired people near your home, you should enroll your parents in it so they can spend time with their age fellows.
Make sure that you include your parents in family activities. If you have kids, you should encourage them to help their grandparents as much as possible.
6. Become a great listener
You might be tempted to dictate the activities of your parents for their well-being. However, being assertive all the time and not listening to your parents can make them feel alone or helpless.
You have to ensure your parents that their age isn’t preventing their liberty. Make sure you listen to your parents instead of giving orders to maintain a friendly bond with them.
Try to get suggestions from your parents about your day-to-day activities. Doing so will ensure that you and your parents stay close to each other.
7. Make them feel positive
Age-related problems might make your parents feel disappointed and discontent. As a caregiver, it’s your job to ensure that your parents feel happy and don’t have harsh feelings about their retired life.
Try to have a positive attitude around your parents. Don’t talk about things that you know might upset them. Make your parents happy so they can enjoy their life to the fullest.
8. Share responsibilities in your family
Being the only caregiver can make things troubling for you. If you have siblings or kids who can help you take care of your parents, make sure you speak up and ask them to lend in taking good care of your elderly parents.
Divide responsibility for caregiving among your family members. For example, if you cook meals for your parents on weekends, your kid might help you by bringing groceries from the local store. Dividing responsibility in a balanced manner will ensure that your parents get the best care.
9. Take regular breaks
If you get back from a demanding job and get straight to taking care of your lovely parents, you might not be able to hold your life together.
Make sure you take regular breaks from your job of being a caregiver. Here are some amazing things you can do to ensure that you don’t feel exhausted when taking care of your parents:
- Hit the gym regularly
- Plan a trip with your friends
- Socialize with people you like
- Fix your diet and stay hydrated
- Stay productive during your work hours
- Ask someone trusted to look after your parents
- Hire a professional caregiver for your parents when you’re out of town
10. Follow proper medical advice
Trying to take care of your parents without getting proper medical advice can be problematic. No matter how dedicated you are to providing the best for your parents, you can never fix your parents’ health-related issues all by yourself.
Follow the advice of a professional doctor to ensure that your parents stay healthy. Ask the doctor to visit your home and do a thorough checkup of your parents. Add reminders in your routine to ensure that your parents take the suggested medicine on time.
11. Keep the home clutter-free
Making changes in your home can help your parents enjoy a great time. For example, if you have items you seldom use scattered throughout your home, these items might cause your parents to slip and get injured.
Try to keep your home as clean as possible. Instead of clinging onto the items you barely use, stash all those items in the garage to clear out your home. Install grab bars near the toilet and the shower to ensure that your parents don’t slip.
Cable management in your home can also do wonders for your parents. Tuck away all the cables so your parents can move freely. Buy non-skid mats for your home so your elder parents can walk easily.
12. Get advice from your friends
As a newbie caregiver, you might not know how to do your best to make life amazing for your elderly parents. Getting advice in such a case ensures that caregiving becomes easier for you and you don’t make any mistakes.
Ask for advice for your friends and let them guide you on how they take care of their parents. You can also check online resources to find valuable information about improving the life of your parents as a vigilant caregiver.
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