How to Take Care of Your Aging Parents?

No matter how independent you think your aging parents are, they might need your help at some point in time. Be it their health, financial condition, aging care solutions, or everyday routine, there are a lot of aspects where they need your support. 

Hence, as their children, it’s your responsibility to cater to their different needs and ensure that they get everything they require. In this blog, we’ve shared different tips on how you can take care of your aging parents and make sure that they live a quality life. Read on to know your options. 

#1 Take Care of their Health 

As our parents’ age, their risk of getting diagnosed with different health conditions increases. Hence, the first and foremost thing you should do is to learn about their health status. Ask them if they are feeling any particular symptoms or any kind of pain that is affecting their everyday life. 

Or, if they have any current medical plan, make sure they go for regular consultations with the doctor and take proper updates on their health. Besides, take care of their diet and ensure that they indulge in some sort of physical activity to keep their muscles and joints healthy. This could include taking them on regular morning and evening walks or just doing yoga asanas every day. 

#2 Talk About Aging Care Options

Most often, children live away from their parents due to their studies and career demands. And that’s why parents find it better to envision their care by considering different aging care options and how much home health care is per hour. If you’re in a similar situation and can’t support your parents physically, you can consider sending them to a care retirement center or assisted living community.

Many people also opt for nursing homes as they provide a wide range of medical services for senior people. While these care options are helpful, but they can also risk your parent’s life in trouble as cases of abuse are very common. For instance, if you’ve sent them to a nursing home, chances are your parents might get injured due to cases of medical practice or poor staffing. These injuries can include overmedication, bed sores and rashes, dehydration, malnutrition, and unexplained bruises. 

In such cases, it’s best to consult an elderly abuse attorney, who can help you get compensatory damages and punitive damages for personal injury and even wrongful death cases. 

So, wherever your parents decide to stay, make sure to keep a regular check on them and ensure that they’re getting proper care. 

#3 Understand their Financial Situation

It is evident that medical care and long-term care can be expensive and require proper financing. Hence, make sure to have an open and honest conversation about finances with your parents. They might have enough savings or income sources to cover their expenses, but as their children, you must discuss these things with them. 

Start by addressing the most important concern, which is whether their medical condition (if they have any) requires extended care. For this, they must have long-term care insurance. Make sure to buy one for them. Having long-term care insurance will offer you and your parents peace of mind as it helps cover the cost of taking care of an aging parent. 

#4 Give Them Your ‘Time’ 

Last but not least, give them your TIME. When your parents have lived their whole life and are living the last few years of their life, all they need is you by their side. You might not understand their emotions since you are rumbled in your own personal life and career, but your presence matters the most to them. Thus, the most effective and easiest way to take care of your parents is by spending time with them, sharing things, and ensuring that you’re always there for them. For this, you can take them to their favorite places like any religious place or maybe a restaurant where they like eating their favorite food and spending time with you.  

And regardless of how much money you’ve invested in their care, your value for them cannot be compared on monetary terms and what they remember is how you treat them. 

Final Thoughts 

Taking care of your aging parents isn’t that easy, and most children take this responsibility without any preparation. And that’s what might disappoint both the parents and the children. Hence, experts advise seeking support and proper guidance from other sources like friends, other family members, or a local caregiver support group. Other than that, follow these above-mentioned tips to do your part.