As your parents grow older and wiser with time, their health and wellbeing grow right alongside them. In other words, their physiological, emotional, mental, and physical needs are increasing with age. This means that someone who is suited to meet such needs should care for them – and who is better than their own offspring?

Whether you feel weary about placing them in the care of someone else or you simply have the time to fully immerse yourself into a caregiver role, the task of providing care to aging adults does not have to be complicated. 

Interested in learning more? Keep reading for a brief guide that makes caring for aging parents stress-free.

Assess Their Needs

The most important step in caring for aging adults, whether they are your parents or not, is to fully examine and assess their needs. However, if they are your parents, this step might come easier for you because you already know about them.

Some basic needs within elderly care include: 

  • Mobility
  • Personal care
  • Transportation
  • Medication
  • Nutrition

While these seem extremely basic, each individual has their own subsets of needs buried within each category you see here. For example, if one of your parents uses a wheelchair and the other uses a cane, then ensuring accessible mobility inside and outside of the house is one of your absolute top priorities. 

Additionally, you can better identify and specify the needs of your parents by speaking to them individually. Make lists of the things they need on a daily, monthly, weekly, and yearly basis. Then, bring them together, and inquire about their needs as a team.

Be Realistic About Your Needs (And Health)

Oftentimes, we see caregivers forgetting to care for themselves because the entirety of their days consist of caring for others, ensuring the needs of others are met, and so on. 

However, if you are about to assume a caregiving position to aid your aging parents, be realistic about your needs, too. Do not forget that you, too, are a human being; that you, too, have needs and health to maintain. The health of the healthcare worker matters. 

Get Help When You Need It

Going off of our last header, one of the best ways you can be realistic about providing care to your aging parents is getting help when you need it. This could mean bringing in a one-time cleaning/nutrition assistant or scrolling “find caregiver” sites until you find the perfect person. 

Getting help with caregiving should never make you feel ashamed, embarrassed, or as though you were not cut out for the job. It simply means that you need a little assistance. Think of it this way: your parents need a little assistance with their daily life, and you need a little assistance in providing the care they need.

We all need help sometimes, whether we admit it or not. But we become the strongest versions of ourselves when we do admit it.

Caring for Aging Parents Is Simple

As their son or daughter, you know your parents better than most. Should you feel ready to assume a caregiving role in an effort to better their quality of life and help with daily routines, it is simpler than ever with the highlights from our guide.

Remember to assess the needs of your parents in all realms, do the same with yourself, and get help with caregiving when you truly need it. Asking for help goes a longer way than suffering in silence.

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