It is always difficult to place aging parents in a nursing home or care facility so many adult children opt to keep their parents at home. If you are faced with this decision, there are some things you need to consider before opting to keep them at home with you. Much of the time it can be done but it will take a bit of rearranging your home and lifestyle to make a smooth transition from their home to yours.
1. Safety
While you want your elderly parents to be comfortable, safety should be your main concern. If they are suffering from any form of dementia, certain safety precautions should be observed. You will probably want to ensure they stay inside the home, or at least within the grounds, because suffering from dementia may cause them to forget where they live. You don’t want them wandering the streets lost and confused. You may feel as though you are keeping them a prisoner by keeping the doors securely locked or with gates keeping them in the yard, but it really is to keep them safe from wandering lost in traffic.
2. Specialised Care Products
You will also probably need an assortment of specialised care products you can find on sites like medical-supermarket.com. These would include such things as nursing beds, incontinence pads for the bed, incontinence underwear, shower chairs and other items to help keep them safe and comfortable while allowing you to give them the care they need.
3. In-Home Nursing Care
Some aging parents need nursing care but even then, you would rather have them at home where they feel safe and comfortable. In-home nursing care is available and sometimes a finite number of hours can be covered by the NHS and other times private insurance can cover all or part of the cost. When they begin needing shots or medications on very specific hours, although you are a loving adult child of aging parents, the care they require may be out of the scope of what you can handle.
4. Respite Care
Another thing to consider when choosing to keep your parents at home where they know they are loved and wanted is the fact that this can literally be a 24/7 job. At some point you will break if you don’t get time away. It could be one evening a week or it could be one weekend away with your spouse. Even the carer needs to be cared for from time to time and what better way is there than seeking a bit of respite care? Some insurance cover also provides this so you may want to check your policy to see if this is available to you.
It may be the loving thing to do but you should always be prepared for a new set of needs your aging parents will experience. As long as you are prepared and allow for time away for yourself, all should go well. Just know that if it gets to be more than you can handle, there are care homes out there as a last resort.