It can be quite a strange transition to make from having the role of a child to becoming a ‘parent’ or caregiver for your parents. These days, it’s a role that many grown-up children assume when their parents get older and need help and support to live independently.
You’re likely reading this today because you want to make sure your parents lead healthy and happy lives in their twilight years. The following are some practical suggestions and tips you can follow to make that happen:
Encourage Your Parents to Stay Active
Your elderly parents don’t need to run a marathon every day to stay fit and active. Simple steps like going for a leisurely stroll around the block or taking the dog for a walk twice a day are great ways for them to stay active.
Apart from the physical health benefits, staying active also helps keep their minds active and alert. There’s even research to suggest that regular exercise can help stave off the development of dementia.
Provide In-Home Care
As your parents get older, their personal needs will change, and they might require daily help for a range of reasons, such as with personal care through to doing the laundry or watering the plants in the garden.
You could provide that practical help for your parents without them resorting to using a care agency. It will enable them to remain independent and live at home.
Also, it’s worth keeping in mind that companies like Freedomcare could help you get paid to care for your parents through a Medicaid-funded program; that’s useful if you have to give up your job to care for your parents.
Organize Nutritious Home-Cooked Meals
There’s always the temptation for aged parents to eat unhealthy meals because they are quick and easy to make, and there isn’t much physical exertion required to prepare such meals.
You need to make sure your parents are always eating healthy, nutritious meals. With that in mind, you could create a batch of home-cooked meals for them each week that you can store in their freezer, ready for cooking in the oven when needed.
Get Familiar With Their Medication
Your parents will undoubtedly have some medication prescribed by their doctors to take each day without fail. To that end, you must get familiar with their medication and contact their doctors for repeat prescriptions. You can use an online pharmacy to deliver their medication directly to them, so they don’t have to worry about someone collecting if they cannot.
You should also contact their doctors if you have concerns about their medication, such as side effects heavily impacting their daily lives. The last thing you want is for your parents to get ill due to severe side effects from the medicine they take each day.
Talk to Your Parents
Lastly, you should take the time to have meaningful conversations with your parents and learn more about what they enjoy and what frustrates them in their daily lives. You may discover some simple (to you) changes that could vastly improve their quality of life.
