7 Ways to Take Care of Your Aging Parents
Everybody gets old and dies. It’s an ugly part of life that can’t be avoided. When you see your parents approach old age, it can be difficult because you both sympathize with them and grow worried over your own future.
It’s only natural to want to take care of your parents when they need it. But you may feel a little lost about how to do it.
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Assess Their Needs
Your parents might be mobile and perfectly capable of managing their lives. Your support, in this case, is purely emotional. Or, your parents might struggle with mental or physical issues related to their age. Seemingly simple tasks can feel impossible. Before you create a care plan, you need to figure out what their needs actually are.
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Move-in
It’s possible that the best option for you and your parents is for you all to live together. This decision can have nothing to do with financial concerns. You may feel as though you can provide special care to your parents. There are a few things you should worry about, however. This is only a good move if you and your parents have a good relationship. If things are strained, living under the same roof can inflame the tension.
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Fight Their Battles
As your parents advance in age, it will become harder and harder for them to manage their affairs. They may be put into situations where they need to defend themselves but are unable to do so. Let’s say your parent is mistreated and neglected at a medical center. It may be appropriate to file a malpractice lawsuit. You will be the person who has to find an attorney, however. You will be the person who has to keep track of all of the paperwork and drive to appointments.
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Cook
It might be time to become your parent’s chef. Cooking for people you love is an ancient tradition for a reason. When people share a meal, it lowers their defenses. They can connect to each other in a new way. Your parents may need help with their meals as they lose mobility. If you’re living together, you can help out by cooking yourself. You can still do this if you don’t live with your parents, but it will take more work or more money. You can prepare batch meals at your own home and deliver a few day’s worths of food to your parents at once. Or, you can try a delivery service.
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Reach Out
Do your parents have other family members? If so, there may be people who want to know about their condition. If your parents aren’t in a condition to reach out to the rest of the family, this is another task that falls on your shoulders. To make it easier on yourself, you can try to reach out to everyone at once. Get on a group phone call or meet up at someone’s house if it’s possible. That way, you only have to deliver the news once.
Make sure you’re clear about your parent’s condition. Dementia, for instance, often causes signs that trigger an alarm in the people around the patient. If those people don’t know that the sufferer is sick, they’ll feel offended or confused.
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Complete the Will
Your parents need to plan the end of their lives when they reach a certain age. This is true even if they won’t be leaving behind a lot of assets. It’s a good idea to answer common medical questions in advance. Otherwise, your parents may be in no cognitive state to say what they want to happen to themselves when they get sick. This conversation won’t be easy, but you will feel much better when it’s over.
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Assisted Living
At some point, your parents may need to move into an assisted living facility. This a very big step that shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, it also shouldn’t be compared to losing freedom or entering freedom. Many elderly adults are happier living in assisted living facilities than struggling on their own.
If their needs are too great for a residential-style home, you can also find a great nursing home. They offer more care.
Whatever you decide to do, it may be a struggle at first. Taking care of the people who once nurtured you feels strange. Yet, there’s nothing more natural. Human beings stand out from animals in part because we take care of ourselves.
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