Taking care of old people is like growing up small babies. At some point we were grown up by our parents. Now when they get old, the responsibility of caretaking comes to our shoulders. And just like parenting, there’re a number of things that should be kept in mind while taking care of old people as well. In this article we’re gonna take a look on 4 such things so you can take care of your old parents in a better way. Let’s begin:

#1.Find Out Their Wishes and Needs

The first thing that you should do is finding out the wishes and needs of your parents. Arrange a family meeting in which you and all your siblings should participate. During the meeting try to find out what your parents have in mind about their old age. The big questions are:

l  Where do they want to stay? In their own home, in a home that’s closer to you/your siblings or in the home where you or any of your siblings live?

l  If there’s a lack of old people in the locality where they want to live, will that be okay to them? Or will they like to live in an area where they can find some people of their age?

Also pay attention to their needs. Wishes are fine, but if their health is such that some of their wishes can’t be fulfilled, then they should not be fulfilled. For example, if they want to live where they’re living because of their social circle, but their health doesn’t allow them to stay alone, then you’ll have to either take them along with you or arrange some sort of caretaker for them.

#2. Assess the Housing Options

Once you know where your old parents want to live, and under what conditions, you should look for the housing options that are available to you. When long-term care is the need of the hour, you’ll basically have two options in front of you: an in-home caretaker, or an assisted living facility. The pros and cons of both these options are given below:

l  Assisted living facilities provide not only the care that old people may need, but also the social circle that they may want. They’re perfect for seniors who don’t need medical care 24×7. The cost of a one-bedroom assisted living unit revolves around $3,000 per month on average.

l  In-Home caretakers cost around $20 per hour on average, but they allow the old people to stay in their homes. If your parents don’t want to leave their home, this can be a viable option (of course, if you can afford it).

#3. Get Your Financial Resources and Assets in Order

If your parents are older than a certain age, then there’s a good chance that your health insurance won’t cover the cost of their treatment. Besides that, if you decide to keep them in an assisted living facility or hire a full time caretaker for them, that will be an additional expense. And you’ve also got to save for your retirement, education of kids and then their marriage. Whether you like it or not, life goes on that way only. So you should get your financial resources in order to handle all these things carefully. Given below are a few things that you should do:

l  If your parents saved something for their retirement, tap those resources. If they’ve got assets, you may have to utilize those assets too for some large expenses (i.e. hospitalization). However, keep their liabilities in mind while utilizing their financial resources and assets. If possible, get added to their account as a joint account holder. All these things can help you keep a check on suspicious charges and also in ensuring that bills needed to be paid are paid on time.

l  Second, determine in advance on how much you can afford to pay from your own savings without having to compromise on your own responsibilities. Having a clear idea of this thing beforehand can be very helpful in the times of need.

l  Lastly, if you’ve siblings, discuss the possibility of financial help with them as well. If possible, in front of parents themselves. Depending on how your relations are with your siblings, this discussion can be heated, quiet, emotional or a mix of all these things. But it’s important to have this discussion in advance so you’ve clear idea of what resources you can tap when needed.

#4. Support Them Emotionally

Finally, support your old parents emotionally. Old people feel emotionally broken many times in their lives. At those times they don’t need medicines – they need emotional support instead. If given, it can help they stay happily and peacefully during that stage of their life. If not given, it may lead to an unhappy old age, and possibly some other medical complications. So support your old parents as much as possible and make them feel that you’re on their side, whenever they need.

Conclusion

As long as you follow these 4 tips outlined above, you’ll be able to take good care of your old parents at home. If you’ve some other tips in mind, please share them in comments so others can also come to know about them. Happy caretaking!