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5 Ways to Make Home Life Easier for The Elderly

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Em Parsons
5 Ways to Make Home Life Easier for The Elderly

It is hard to watch your elderly loved one start to lose their physical and mental abilities, especially if they live alone. Thus, it is important to offer the elderly a great quality of life even if their mobility has started to deteriorate. Retirement also brings on an increase in free time which can lead to loneliness, so it is essential that your older loved one still enjoys hobbies, some physical activity and time with family. To avoid home life becoming boring, here are our top tips on making the home easier to live in and more enjoyable. 

 

1.Accessibility

 Before thinking about fun activities to make home life easy for the elderly individual, it is essential that the house has mobility assistance. If the house is easier to move around in, more tasks that are usually undertaken by your loved one can still be completed unassisted, which helps them feel useful. This includes adding handlebars and suction mats in the bathroom so they can shower alone, as well as claw sticks to prevent bending over. To access the television and phone, install a remote and headset with large buttons to create increased uncomplicated functionality. Finally, if a wheelchair is involved, ramps will need to be installed as well as more railings to help move them through the house.

 

  1. Social Life

 It is great to spend more time with your loved ones as they get older, so you can hear stories and keep each other company. Unfortunately, with the demands of work and your own children, it is not always possible to see them daily. Having someone in the neighbourhood to check in on them when you can’t is beneficial, especially if they are already friends with the elderly person. Also, services like Home Care Heroes are available where people come to spend quality time with your loved one. This may include arts and crafts, going to events, doing household tasks, and just simply talking to them. Try to ensure your loved one does not have too much alone time otherwise they may start showing signs of depression or anxiety, particularly relevant if their significant other has already passed away.  Also, make time in your week to drive them to their friends’ houses, as well as bring them to family occasions so they do not feel left out.

 

  1. Encourage Physical Activity

 If possible, the elderly person should try to increase their mobility in order to maintain muscle strength and heart health. This can be as simple as a walk around the block, or water aerobics which is also popular. Aqua aerobics is beneficial as it is easy on the joints, prevents obesity, and enhances coordination. Dancing is also popular as it has the social element of a dance partner and stimulates memory through recalling the dance steps.  If your older loved one is limited due to a wheelchair, sedentary exercises are available, such as lifting weights, reaching stretches and inner thigh stretches.

 

  1. Home Delivery

 If your elderly loved one can make it to the shops safely by themselves, then allow them to. However, as they get even older and less mobile, it can be difficult for them to keep up with groceries and food preparations. If this is the case, you should organise a Coles or Woolworths delivery system whereby they bring the senior their items. If they are unable to make food, prepare meals for them over the weekend for their whole week, or invest in a food service such as Meals On Wheels so that they are still getting the nutrients they need when you are not present.

 

  1. Encourage Hobbies

 In addition to physical activity, encourage your loved one to keep up their hobbies such as gardening, cooking or knitting. This gives them a sense of purpose and passes time by. When you are together, encourage them to teach you how they do it, therefore promoting mental stimulation and feelings of usefulness. Plus, whatever they like doing, you can gain some great tips and recipes to try out for yourself. Furthermore, their social interaction can be enhanced by bringing the grandchildren over, as it can be fun to play card games or do sudoku together as a family. Additionally, ethnic card games such as Briscola are a way to connect with other elderly people of the neighbour, thus creating a sense of community by playing together.

 

Overall, there are certainly ways to make your elderly loved one’s life at home both safer and easier. It can be hard to accept limitations on mobility, but with frequent social interaction and accessibility assistance, your loved one can continue to live at home comfortably even if you cannot visit them daily.

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Em Parsons
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