Caring for aging parents is a top priority for many adults. Even if you decide to hire a caregiver to take care of your parents, your parents may find it difficult to find satisfaction, take care of the house, and foster social connections. Consequently, aging parents are often left in a vulnerable position, and their adult children must focus on giving their parents the care and attention they need. Here’s how to stay close to your aging parents while ensuring aging parents are comfortable and content.
Maintain Frequent Contact
Whether you live across the country or down the street, maintaining frequent contact with your parents is essential. If you’re not physically there to see your parents, modern technology makes it possible for you to see their faces and maintain regular contact.
If you’re used to calling your parents once a week or twice a month, set aside extra time for them. Try calling your parents in the morning during your commute to work or calling after you get home from work. If one of your parents has lost a significant other, maintaining frequent contact can help them fight depression and boredom.
In addition to calling frequently, aim to visit your parents more often. In-person visits can give you an idea of how your parents are doing and help you take better care of them. If you’re struggling to visit due to distance, try scheduling quality time for your parents through video call platforms like Skype and Facetime.
Consider Hiring a Caregiver
If you don’t have enough time to visit your parents regularly, hiring a caregiver can help your aging parents with healthcare and chores. Caregivers don’t only provide long-term care—they can also do everything you want to do for your parents, including clean their house, take them grocery shopping, provide substantial supervision, and schedule doctor’s appointments.
When planning for long-term care for your aging parents, finances will inevitably become a topic of discussion. If you’re working with your parents to eliminate unnecessary expenses, you might consider letting their life insurance policy lapse to eliminate the cost of insurance premiums. However, your parent’s life insurance policy can help you obtain cash through a viatical settlement.
In a viatical settlement, an individual sells their life insurance policy to a viatical settlement provider for more than its cash surrender value but less than its net death benefit. For aging parents, viatical settlements may be the key to paying for various expenses, including medical expenses, living expenses, caregiver costs, and medications.
Retrofit Their Home
If your parents are hesitant to move to a senior community or nursing home, retrofitting their home can help fix potential hazards while allowing your aging parents to maintain their independence. Retrofitting your parents’ home might seem overwhelming, but focusing on one room at a time can help accommodate aging in place. Start by going through your parents’ home room by room and listing potential hazards. Rate each hazard by severity to determine which areas should be addressed first.
If your parents spend most of their time at home, try making their living space more comfortable with custom couches. BenchMade Modern creates custom-designed, hand-crafted furniture to seamlessly fit into your parents’ home. Each one of their sofas can be customized in a variety of sizes and orientations, so you can ensure your parents are getting exactly as much or as little sofa as they need to fill their space. Additionally, your parents can test custom design fabrics and leathers in the comfort of their own homes to help them make the perfect decision.
Although it may be difficult to create more time for your aging parents, taking steps to give your parents the care and attention they need will ensure that they’re happier, healthier, and safer.
To read more on topics like this, check out the health category.
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