Sophie Okolo, MPH

Looking after an aging parent can be a difficult task. Sometimes you may feel as though they need more help than you can give them, and that you are constantly trying to juggle your own responsibilities on top of everything. This can make you feel guilty and overwhelmed, but it doesn’t need to be this way. In fact, there are ways that you can make your life easier when caring for an aging parent.

Find out What Home Changes could Help

There’s a huge range of equipment available online that can help you to move or communicate with your parent. You can even make some changes to their home so that they can move around better. Things like this can make it easier for them, while lessening the strain on you, so it’s always worth exploring options like this. If you want to make things even easier, it may be worth looking into a top rated home health care agency as they’ll be able to give you and your relative the support they need.

Alarms and Monitors

An alarm or even a monitor may help to give your parent a convenient way of calling for help. It will give them support during an emergency or it can even send information to other people. You can also get fall monitors that sense if a person has fallen, so you can have complete peace of mind knowing that your relative is safe when you are at work.

Get Help at Home

If you know that your aging parent is quite mobile but needs help around the house then you shouldn’t feel the need to shoulder this burden all by yourself. There are many services out there that can help. It may be that you look into meal delivery or that you hire a cleaner for your aging parent. Either way, you need to understand that it is not 100% on you to provide every aspect of care for your loved one, and that there is nothing wrong with asking for help.

Learn how to Lift and Move

It may be helpful for you to learn how to lift or move the person you are looking after. This is especially the case if they have health conditions. If you know that your aging parent falls frequently, it may be worth getting a walking device for them so that you can prevent injuries.

Legal Arrangements

When people get older, legal arrangements need to be made. It may be that you need to look into a care plan or appoint a guardian. Having a will is also very important. Do everything you can to get documentation like this in order, especially if your loved one is showing signs of forgetfulness or confusion. Although things like this can be difficult to deal with, getting it sorted sooner rather than later can be a great help to everyone involved.