The year-end holidays are upon us again and most people will be getting together with family to celebrate and enjoy the festivities. When your parents are getting along in years and they are not in the best of health, you may feel that it can limit your options to plan the type of holiday you, your spouse, and your children are looking forward to. But that need not be the case. We show you how to include your parents in a great couple of weeks for everyone.
Safety Proof Your Home for the Elderly and Infirm
With aging comes less mobility. This means that your parents may struggle to get in and out of the bath or navigate the steps. All it takes is a bit of planning and a small expenditure to ensure that nothing happens to mar the festivities. Here are some tips to ensure the safety of your loved ones in their own homes. Some of these are applicable to your home too for the duration of the holidays and even going forward.
If you have a shower, you can fit this with a bench for fragile parents to sit on while they take a shower. Make sure it is fitted with handrails to help them get up and down. Handrails can easily be fitted to small sets of steps. Arrange for your parents to have a room downstairs during their stay. This is a good time to get rid of any clutter that a person could walk into or trip over.
Traveling Arrangements
You may have decided that your parents should come to you instead of the other way round. This is probably easiest if you have small children or even teenagers who would be bored at their grandparents’ home and not have their usual forms of entertainment available. You can arrange for them to be transported safely and under constant care and supervision, even from bedside to bedside if necessitated by the state of their health. Contact an air medical transportation service for details.
Plan Two Sets of Activities
Depending on the condition of your parents’ health, plan activities that will involve them and spread these out. Work out a second set of activities for the rest of the family. Remember that aged parents will not be able to keep up with all the family activities. They will appreciate a break and some peace and quiet, interspersed with family gatherings.
Choose activities that they can manage, for example, board games and meals with other members of the extended family. Elderly parents will be happy to sit and watch as the youngsters and yourselves decorate the Christmas tree. Remember that it is the time together that counts.
Be Patient
Don’t hurry your parents along. Accept that it will take them longer to get from point A to point B. Park near shops and restaurant entrances. Find out if they have any dietary restrictions and look for alternatives.
Your parents won’t be around forever. Make the most of the time you have with them.
