As our parents age, it is natural to feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to best support them as they transition into their golden years. With a few simple steps, however, you can ensure that your elderly parents are able to lead the highest quality of life possible. Today, let’s take a look at the ways you can help your elderly parents improve their quality of life.
Stay Connected and Involved
It is essential to stay connected with your elderly parents and remain involved in their lives. Beyond simply staying in touch with phone calls or visits, make sure that you are on top off any changes in their health or lifestyle as well. Monitor their medications, keep up with doctor’s visits and important dental appointments, and encourage them to attend social activities such as Senior Center classes or get-togethers with friends. These activities can help prevent loneliness, depression and isolation–all of which can be dangerous for seniors living alone.
Keep Them Active
Physical activity has many benefits for people of all ages—especially the elderly. Exercise helps maintain physical strength and balance while also improving mental clarity by increasing blood flow to the brain. Furthermore, regular exercise helps reduce stress levels while also improving mood and sleep quality. Find out what types of activities your aging parent enjoys doing—whether it’s gardening or walks around the neighborhood—and encourage them to stay active each day. If necessary, hire a personal caretaker who will accompany them on walks or other activities so that they do not feel isolated or scared when going out alone.
Support Their Financial Independence
Supporting their daily needs with bill paying, insurance navigation and other services enables them to maintain independence and stay connected to their community. It also helps relieve stress for family members who are tasked with seeing that all of these things get done properly and on time. Taking proactive measures, such as setting up automatic payments or appointment reminders, or helping them to work with an independent insurance agent, further reduces the strain of keeping tabs on potentially overwhelming details. Volunteering time and energy to help with these matters can be extremely beneficial- both mentally and physically- for aging parents and make a tangible difference in their quality of life.
Help Around the House
As our parents age it can become increasingly difficult for them to manage everyday tasks like cleaning and making meals for themselves. Studies have even found that seniors benefit from doing housework; it is associated with lower rates of functional disability in seniors over 65! To make things easier for your elderly parent(s), consider helping out around the house whenever possible so that they don’t have to worry about tiresome chores like grocery shopping or vacuuming carpets (or spending money on someone else to do these things).
Socialization
Socializing with friends and family members can reduce feelings of loneliness in older adults and help them maintain a positive outlook on life. If you live near your elderly parent(s), try to make time for regular visits so you can spend quality time together. If you don’t live close by, arrange video calls so you can still stay connected; this will also give you an opportunity to check in on how they’re doing physically and emotionally. You may also want to consider reaching out to organizations like Meals on Wheels that provide home-delivered meals along with socialization from volunteers.
Nutrition
Good nutrition is essential for all ages but especially important for older adults who may have difficulty preparing meals due to mobility issues or limited access to healthy foods. Consider stocking up their kitchen with healthy snacks like nuts, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc., which are easy to grab when hunger strikes. If your parent needs additional assistance with meal preparation or grocery shopping due to physical limitations or limited resources, look into home-delivered meal services that offer restaurant-quality meals tailored for seniors’ dietary needs (such as low sodium).
Looking after an aging parent is no easy task. However, there are many meaningful ways you can help enhance their quality of life — from staying connected and involved in their lives to helping around the home — all of which will be deeply appreciated by both you and your parents alike. By taking a few simple steps today, you will be doing wonders for your loved one’s overall wellbeing now and in years to come.
