Five Ways to Make Your Parents’ Home Age-Friendly

Your mom’s knees ache by the end of the day. Going upstairs to her bedroom is becoming a problem. Your dad has gout and flare-ups make it hard for him to go to his basement laundry room. He’s started skipping the laundry some weeks. How can you make your parents’ home more age-friendly?

Senior Care Shelter Island: Senior Home Safety

Rearrange the Kitchen

Falls in the kitchen will often happen because people use chairs or counters to reach items in high cupboards. Rearrange your mom and dad’s kitchen so that items they often use are in low cupboards or on the counter.

Consider redoing the kitchen to remove wall-mounted cupboards. Instead, lower cupboards with slide-out cutting boards and pot/pan drawers make it easy to reach and use heavier items.

Inspect Rails

Both inside and out, look at the railings on decks, porches, and up and down staircases. If a railing is loose, there’s the chance it will give. If your mom leaned against a porch rail and it toppled, your mom would fall backwards to the ground. If a handrail on the stairs to the bedroom loosened, your dad could lose his balance and fall down the stairs.

Add Grab Bars in Each Bathroom

Falls in bathrooms are common. One reason is that a tile or linoleum floor is slippery. To help your parents keep their balance while getting in and out of the bathtub or shower, add grab bars. They have support while stepping onto slippery surfaces.

Fix Loose or Broken Flooring

Go through your parents’ house and pay attention to loose or broken flooring. If there is a cracked tile in the bathroom, that tile might slip around when it’s walked on. Loose carpeting poses the same risk.

If carpeting is torn and curling up on the edge, your parents’ toes may catch on it and lead to a fall. If a carpet tack is exposed on a seam, it will hurt to step on it and may cause a fall.

Don’t miss repairs outside the home. If one of the boards on stairs leading to the garage or on a deck is cracked, your mom or dad could be seriously injured. Imagine the height of a fall if the top stair tread breaks under someone’s weight.

Arrange Elder Care Services

Arrange to have elder care aides help your parents with the harder tasks. If your dad is struggling with laundry, ask about laundry service. If your mom can’t clean her bathtub, talk to an elder care agency about housekeeping services. A specialist can help you understand services and prices. Call to learn more.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring Senior Care in Shelter Island, NY, call the caring staff at Artful Home Care today at 631-685-5001.