4 Steps to Take When Aging Parents Need Help

When parents age, they may need help with activities of daily living. They may not want or be able to live on their own any longer and would prefer to move in with you or a family member.

If living with a family member is not feasible, assisted living facilities are a viable option. Assisted living facilities provide a safe and comfortable living environment for seniors who need help with daily activities.

The decision to provide that help can be difficult, but there are steps you can take to make the process easier.

Talk to Your Parents About Their Wishes

As we age and begin to experience health problems, it can be beneficial to have a plan in place that requires minimal decision-making at critical moments.

In order to be prepared and make sure your parents’ voices are heard, now is the time to start having talks about what they would like to happen if they need help with aging or medical issues down the road.

It’s important to remember that decisions about quality of life, end-of-life care, and even finances can all be very difficult for one person to make alone. Make sure you respect their wishes, whether those wishes include working through an illness with care from family members or relying on medical professionals.

Knowing extra details such as their preferences for certain medical interventions or decisions regarding their care provider can help relieve stress should an unfortunate situation come up in the future.

Helping get these difficult conversations started well before any crisis occurs can provide peace of mind for both your parents as well as yourself knowing you are both on the same page when it comes time for tough decision-making down the line.

Evaluate Your Parents’ Needs

With our parents getting older, it’s important to periodically evaluate their needs and think about how we can assist them as best we can.

Once we understand what kind of help our parents need, we can then decide what type of assistance will be most beneficial. This could involve finding someone reliable to drive them to appointments or providing companionship in the form of friendly phone calls.

Research Care Options

When you are planning the care of a family member, the last thing you want to do is be overwhelmed with choices and information.

To make sure you are taking the right steps to determine the best option for your family’s needs and budget, it’s important to take your time and do your own research.

There are several things to consider when deciding which care option is best for your family, including physical capabilities, financial responsibilities, home environment, any cultural beliefs or preferences, and most importantly, quality of life.

Consider all available resources such as respite care or home-based aides that could supplement an overall care plan. You can even opt for a senior living facility like Husky Senior Care, if you live in Seattle.

Additionally, make sure you review local or state regulations regarding safety and quality of service within each setting before making a decision.

Discuss Finances With Your Parents

Having a frank discussion about finances and care costs with your aging parents is an important step in preparing for their later years.

Making sure that each of you understands who will bear the financial burden of care expenses and how those costs will be paid are key elements of this conversation.

Financial planning for aging parents should involve creating a budget for both short-term and long-term care needs, considering government programs or private insurance that may provide assistance, and coming up with contingency plans in case payments become too burdensome.

Take stock of what your parents own as well as what they owe, then come up with a realistic plan for how these costs can be managed.

Be prepared to make changes or adjustments necessary should circumstances change over time—but most importantly, stay in communication so everyone is on the same page.

In times of difficulty, emotional support is just as valuable a resource as financial or practical assistance. At such a stressful time, where our lives have been turned upside down, it is especially important to offer emotional support, both to ourselves and those around us.

Our parents are among the people most affected by this change as they grow older and can’t take care of themselves, which means it is all the more essential to provide emotional encouragement and reassurance.

Though it’s not always easy, we must ensure everyone in our family feels listened to and respected as much as possible.