Americans are living longer than ever before!
For some
states, life expectancy rates have
gone up 3 years. However, other states' life expectancy rates jumped up by as
much as 9 years! For instance, North Carolina residents use to live an average
of 72 years, but now they’re expected to live closer to 80 years on average.
As life
expectancy rates continue to rise, more and more children will have to learn
how to care for parents. From providing light at-home care to helping your
parents transition into a nursing home, elderly care looks different for every
family. To help you determine what your senior care plan should look like,
we’ve created this short guide.
Read on
to learn all about caring for parents as they age.
1. Determine What Level of Care Is Necessary
You can
start by distinguishing between the different levels of care for parents. Do
you think your parents need a lot of help, or do they just need assistance now
and then? One of the best ways to figure out what category your parents fall
into is by creating a list of tasks they need help with.
We
suggest you break up the tasks into daily, weekly, and monthly lists. If you
find the lists keep growing and growing, it may be time to consider in-home
care or nursing home options.
Signs Its Time for a Nursing Home
Are one
of your parents dealing with a mental health condition such as dementia? If the
dementia’s causing your parent to wander off, or have violent episodes, it may
be time to explore senior living centers. There are plenty of high-quality
nursing homes out there that specialize in helping residents who have
conditions such as Alzheimer's or dementia.
2. Providing at Home Care
Are you
planning on helping your parents from the comfort of their home? At the early
stages of aging, a simple weekly visit and a daily phone call can be enough.
When you call your parents, you can ask questions to help you assess how
they’re doing. When you visit your parents, you can also casually assess their
living situation.
Is the
home clean? Do they have fresh food in the fridge? If the house is dirty and
the fridge is full of leftover take-out meals, it could be signs that your
parents having a hard time completing daily tasks. If this is the case, you may
need to do more than make a weekly visit.
Instead,
it may be time to start enlisting help. By working together as a team, the
entire family can help with things like groceries, doctor appointments, and
house cleaning. If your parent’s suffering from a terminal health condition,
you can also look into learning how to care for the elderly at home
with hospice.
Next,
you’ll want to learn how to provide quick and easy meals, so your parents don’t
suffer from malnutrition. Great ideas for breakfast include things like
whole-grain waffles, fruit smoothies, and steel-cut oats with fresh fruit. Are
your parents able to cook for themselves? If yes then help your parents learn a
few new nutritional recipes they can make in less than an hour.
Finally,
if it’s time for your Mom and Dad to turn over the car keys, you’ll want to
create a safe driving plan so they can still get around. There are a lot of
different senior transportation services out there, as long as you’re willing
to look.
3. The Power of a Social Life
The rate
of cognitive decline in seniors is 70% less in people who have
an active social life. Keeping your parents socially active will also help them
stay more mobile and health-conscious.
To help
your parents avoid social isolation, it’s helpful if you encourage them to
participate in hobbies and interests they enjoy. Or, if your parents are
spiritual, find a place of worship they can attend near the home.
Another
way to help your parents stay engaged is to buy them a plant or pet they can
take care of. However, make sure the pet won’t require a level of care that will
be overwhelming for your parents. For instance, a low energy lap dog would be
preferable over a high strung boxer.
4. What if Your Parents Resist Help?
Learning
how to care for your parents is great, but what if your parents refuse to
accept the help you’re offering? The key to winning over a resistant parent is
patience. It may take a while for your parent to adjust to the changes that
taking place in their life.
Instead
of rushing them, give your parents some time to think about the different types
of help you’re offering. Next, let your Mom and Dad know you’re on their side.
You can avoid arguments by reminding everyone, including yourself, that working
together is the best solution.
5. Don’t Wear Yourself Thin
Last but
not least, one of the most important aspects of caring for your parents is
remembering to care for yourself. Trying to juggle the daily tasks of
caregiving for your parents, while also maintaining your own life can be
overwhelming.
If you
don’t take time to provide self-care, you’ll wind up burnt out and full of
resentment. Examples of self-care include things like getting enough sleep,
eating well, and having days off from helping others.
Provide the Best Care for Parents
After
reading this article, what are you going to do first to help your parents have
a better life? Are you thinking about exploring nursing home options? Or are
you going to look for ways your parents can be more active members of the
community?
Since
knowing where you stand is the first step towards providing care for parents,
go ahead and start writing out all of the caregiving tasks. Next, start
exploring ways you can get help so you're not doing it all alone. For more
helpful insights, check out the rest of this site.
