Five Top Concerns of Seniors and How to Help
December 15, 2020
Whether your aging parent has expressed these concerns directly to you or not, many of the issues listed below worry seniors as they develop plans to successfully live in their home during their later years. Helping your aging parent come up with strategies (and reassurances) on these issues will help ensure her peace of mind.
Physical Assistance
As your parent is getting older, she may be finding that she can’t do all the physical things she used to be able to do. Shoveling the snow, pushing the lawnmower or even mopping the floor may cause discomfort and even put her at risk for injuries. As her caregiver, you can assist in some areas, but you may find that you don’t have enough time or energy to do it all. Hiring a qualified home care provider to assist with household chores and some outdoor tasks can bring needed relief to all of you.
Financial Security
Living on a fixed income that is possibly less than she has lived on before, can make meeting a new budget tough for your elderly parent. It might mean she’ll have to be more diligent with how and when she spends her money. Sitting with her and preparing a monthly budget and helping her allocate the right amount of fund to bills and payments will help set her up for success. This is also a good time to talk openly and honestly about financial predators who like to prey on senior citizens. Talk to her about not making any financial decisions with someone she doesn’t know, no matter how kind or trustworthy that person seems.
Loneliness
As your aging parent gets older, it’s likely she’ll lose some of the most important people in her life – a spouse, siblings, friends. Losing someone she loves can bring on loneliness. While mourning those losses is normal and is an important part of life, you can also help her not be alone too much. Arrange for family and friends to set a regular visiting or calling schedule and consider hiring a home care provider to come over weekly for a good game of checkers or a cup of coffee.
Transportation
Even before they give up driving all together, many seniors begin to realize that their reflexes are not as quick as they used to be, or they struggle with night vision. These concerns can cause your aging parent to not want to drive to the store or the doctor. A home care provider can help by driving your parent to and from appointments or arranging for other transportation needs for when the home care providers isn’t around, like helping your parent learn how to order an Uber/Lyft or use the local bus system.
Diseases and Ill Health
Your aging parent may fear many age-related diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, stroke or Alzheimer’s. As her caregiver, you can help her be preventative by developing healthy habits such as eating well and having physical activity every day. Fostering an environment that promotes honest communication about physical discomforts or impairments as they come up, can help you and your parent seek help at the beginning stages of many diseases, increasing the chances of successful treatment.
With proper plans and precautions set up, neither you nor your parent will need to let worry take over the joys of your parent living in her home.
If you or your loved one is looking for Home Care in Los Gatos, CA, please call Familiar Surroundings Home Care.
Santa Clara County: (408) 979-9990
San Mateo County: (650) 353-9777
Santa Cruz County: (831) 480-3990