In most cases, the first step of a long-term plan for seniors is to take care of their elderly parents. This can be a cost-effective way to provide comfort and familiarity, while also saving money. This allows family members time to decide whether at-home care is better than facility-based care.
Caregiving for elderly people at home is often the responsibility of family members and friends.
This increased dependence occurs for some adult children after they retire and their children leave the nest. Some adult children, referred to as the “sandwich generation”, begin experiencing increased dependency while still having their children at home.
The “sandwich generation” is so named because it’s sandwiched in between two generations that depend on it. To balance these responsibilities, careful planning is required and external support may be needed to manage the demands from parents and children.
Tips for Caring for Aging Parents
These 11 tips on caring for elderly parents are applicable to both empty nesters (EN) and sandwich generation(SG). We’ve marked a few of these with a double-asterisk (**), to make it clear that they are essential for the sandwich generation.
1. Keep an Eye on the Well-being of Your Parents **
Caregiving for elderly parents starts often with a simple daily routine. You might make a phone call every week or day to check on them. You can assess their progress by listening to the conversational bits they share during these phone calls.
This is not enough in many cases. When seniors are in distress, they often conceal it on the phone. This is true unless the person has Alzheimer’s or dementia. In either case, it is necessary to perform physical surveillance in order to assess how independent living seniors are faring.
2. Early Helpers are Important
As your parents age, the responsibility of caring for them becomes even more demanding. Caregiving becomes more difficult as their needs increase over time.
It’s difficult to know what you need, when it is needed, and how to get it. It’s also difficult to make good decisions in an emergency.
In order to avoid this, involve the whole family in the planning of a care plan. After all, providing care is a team effort. You can do this by offering respite on certain days or at specific times during the year, contributing towards a fund to pay for professional home care or hiring someone to clean your house.
Each task is important to the overall support. If you try to do everything alone, you’ll exhaust yourself.
3. Find Respite Care Providers **
You will have times when you can’t meet the needs of your parents, for example:
- Drive them to their appointments
- Planning and preparing meals
- Help around the House
- Running errands or doing the laundry
- Unexpected Doctor Visit
You may need to take a break to attend your child’s sports event on the weekend or to go on a family vacation. By working with a agency in advance, you can have respite services ready when you need them.
When needed, home health aides are available to help. They provide personal care, medication administration, and assistance with daily tasks. Their services include companionship and support to make life easier for seniors, and their caregivers.
4. Find a way to provide easy-to-prepare meals
It is important to ensure proper nutrition when caring for the elderly. Malnutrition is a serious problem for seniors. One of the most important is the inability to prepare and cook food, or shop for it. Seniors often skip meals and eat low-nutrition processed foods.
We provides a variety of tips for ensuring that your loved ones have regular access to nutritious, healthy meals. These meals are tailored to their dietary needs and maintain their health.
5. Take Care of yourself
It’s like the rule in an airplane that you must put on your oxygen mask first before helping anyone else. If you’re incapacitated, it is impossible to take care of others.
You need to take care of your body and mind to have the stamina and energy to be a caregiver. It is important to take care of yourself. This will give you the energy and mental strength needed to provide care for others.
Although getting a massage and going to the gym can be beneficial, they are not always feasible for caregivers.
6. Keep your parent active and engaged
It’s great to live independently as you age, but it is not good if that means you have to withdraw from daily activities which keep them engaged and active. Consider hiring a companion to help your parent attend their regular social, religious and recreational activities. You can also ask for help from other members of the organization your senior is a part of.
A fellow Rotary member might be willing to provide transportation from or to meetings. By the same token members of your parents’ church, temple or synagogue may be able to facilitate attendance.
7. Make your home safe and accessible **
Any senior can be negatively affected by a fall or injury. Safety is therefore a priority when caring at home for the elderly. Installation of grab bars, the securing of rugs and improved lighting can reduce accidents.
You may have to hire an external contractor to do structural modifications. Widening doors for wheelchair accessibility or installing a staircase lift can be complicated tasks that require expert knowledge. These modifications increase safety and allow seniors to maintain their independence in the home.
8. Access to Safe Transportation **
Losing mobility and eventually having to stop driving can be a big challenge for seniors. To ensure that seniors remain connected and active, it is important to explore other transportation options. Seniors have many transportation options. Creating a plan for safe driving may take some research and time.
9. Understanding Financial Obligations & Assistance Options
Initially, it may seem impossible to care for elderly people at home. There are many resources that can be used. There are many resources available to help people care for older adults without having to take extreme measures like selling off personal property, depleting their savings, or taking out loans.
10. Benefits and Financial Assistance for Seniors
Many family caregivers are not aware of government programs that can assist with the expenses of elderly parents. If your parents are eligible, it’s crucial to apply. Tax benefits are also available to caregivers. Tax benefits are available for caregivers. They can claim their elderly parents and deduct medical costs.
These programs can be found on specific websites. Our service provided by the National Council on Aging that helps you find local benefits and programs. This service is designed for seniors who have limited income or resources. This service is available in all 50 States and Washington D.C.
These programs provide assistance with prescription medication, housing, healthcare and home care services. These programs also offer assistance with legal aid, nutritional costs, financial assistance, and transportation.
We also provides a list of over 1,000 senior-oriented programs. It’s well worth checking to see if you parents are eligible for government assistance or benefits.
11. Schedule in-home consultations with local home care agencies
You can arrange for free consultations at home with local agencies that provide In-home Care in Adelaide. These sessions provide a wealth of information on long-term care, financial advice, and many tips for caregivers. You’ll be familiar with agencies, and you’ll know which ones will best suit your parent’s requirements.
Find Balance When Caring for Aging Parents
It is a labor of love to care for elderly parents at home. The 11 tips above will help you balance the lives of your parents and yourself. You’ll probably need some help along the way, no matter how busy you are.