5 Top Caregiving Tips if You Are Keeping Parents at Home

There is no place like home. The majority of older adults would rather spend their twilight years in a familiar environment, surrounded by the people they love. It’s only natural.

At the very least, the familiarity of their home offers a great source of comfort, and they will likely function more efficiently in a place that they know. Productivity plays a major part here, as well as effectiveness in completing their daily routines. They will not be tentative in their manner, nor confused when tackling tasks, even if their memory is slipping.

There’s a laundry list of practical reasons why people decide to move their parents to professional care facilities, but if you count yourself among those that can keep their parents at home, there are at least five top caregiving tips you should know.

Let them control the situation, not the decision

Are your parents physically fit to take care of themselves? There will come a time when this question leads to a difficult discussion, but it is inescapable. At a certain point, you’ll have to hire a professional caregiver who will aid your parents daily, and make sure that they remain safe when you or other family members aren’t there.

Now, this new dynamic may prove to be uncomfortable for your parents, especially when it comes to certain sensitive needs, and letting someone take care of them. However—and this is the crux of the matter—you can get them to relent by letting them control the situation, not the decision.

They can be heavily involved with choosing the caregiver, but not whether or not one will be hired. You are essentially refocusing them, and giving them agency in a way that matters as well.

Consider emergency buttons of a different kind

In addition to hiring a professional caregiver, you’ll want to ensure that your parents are as safe as possible, by installing wall buttons for medical alert systems in their homes. These buttons have become particularly popular, both with older people and their children, simply because they eliminate the need for parents to wear an emergency button with them.

Wearing the button is often like a scarlet letter to the elderly, and they take it as a sign that they are frail and a burden. Thankfully, by installing several alert buttons in high-risk areas, you’re practically having your cake, and eating it. They’re an option in the case of emergency, not an obligation.

Declutter the household several times a year

Naturally, retirees tend to hoard stuff. They can get attached to the most insignificant material things, and this leads to heavily-cluttered households. Such households turn into deathtraps, and danger can lurk around every corner in the shape of heavy piles or scattered objects, that result in trips, ankle sprains, and other disasters in the waiting.

By decluttering the household at least two times a year, you are ensuring your parents’ security, and turning the home into an easier place to live.

Eliminate stairs

This is an important tip that has a profound impact on the life of every family member. Everything that your parent needs to function normally daily should be within a short walking distance to their regular dwelling space.

This includes the bathroom, kitchen, a relaxation space, and a medicine cabinet. All of these elements should be accessible on a singular plain, possibly the ground floor. By eliminating stairs as a factor, your parents are less likely to slip and injure themselves (or worse).

Give them plants

Humans are curious and productive by nature. We like projects, and we like to be occupied in a way that will show some progress and results over time. Here’s a suggestion for an excellent life-hack to keep your parents content and occupied—Give them some green plants to take care of.

They can learn more about horticulture online, and devise the most effective ways to encourage plant growth. Furthermore, you can purchase a range of plants that are also known to be very healthy, and efficient indoor air-purifiers.

Conclusion

Ultimately, you cannot micromanage. Your elderly parents have to be on board with everything if you want matters to run smoothly. That is the essential truth of the matter if you, of course, want to keep the interpersonal relationships as harmonious as possible.

Thankfully, you do have some leverage, as a sharper individual who sees things with some clarity. Certain tasks will have to be delegated to the other members of the family and, naturally, the professional caregiver you’ve hired.

Still, it would be wise to delegate some of the easily-manageable tasks to your parents as well. This will take some of the weight off everybody else, and we all know that parents want to feel as useful and relevant as possible. That might be the ultimate, extra caregiving tip.