If you have your parents living with you and they are already advanced in years, you may want to consider making some changes around the house to ensure their safety.
Floors
If you’re used to industrial flooring systems at work, floor traction at home is not one of the things you worry about. However, if you have elderly folks living with you, this is something you should seriously give some thought.
- Since most seniors shuffle their feet when they walk, this puts them at a higher risk of falling and tripping. Consider covering most surfaces with anchored carpet and securing it. This gives you a softer surface and more traction for your folks.
- Lose all throw rugs that can make your parents slip. Similarly, get rid of high-pile carpets that increase the risk of trips. If your parents want a rug in their room, you may opt to get them rugs with non-slip pads or rug anchors.
Navigation
Getting around the house should also be a non-issue for your dad or mom.
- Make more space. This means arranging your furniture and laying them out so that your parents have enough space to move around and not struggle. This also means that you need to either get rid of decorative furniture or just moving them to other parts of the house where your parents don’t often go to.
- Make things easily accessible to them. Observe and talk to your parents to find out which items they use frequently and find out how you can make these easily accessible without your parents reaching too high above shelves or behind furniture for these items.
- Make sure your home is well-lit. It comes as no surprise that the older we get, the more our visions deteriorates. In your parents’ case, you need to ensure that they can easily make their way around the house without having to worry about not seeing things clearly, especially in areas where there are stairs. Install night lights where applicable to keep them safe even as they go to the restroom to relieve themselves in the middle of the night.
Stairs
A lot of home accidents occur on the stairs so all the stairs in your home must be addressed and remedied.
- Install railings along your staircase. Each set of stairs at home should have two railings your folks can grab while going up or down.
- Apply non-slip or rubber strips to your stairs. This helps provide more traction to each step and prevents the likelihood of falling.
- Install grab bars in their toilet, shower, and bathtub. According to the National Institute on Aging, 80% of the one out of three senior citizens who fall annually fall inside the bathroom. So it is best to reinforce your bathroom to minimize the rate of accidents in it.
The Extra Mile
- Consider getting the services of professional home care specialists and caregivers. While taking responsibility for your parents is something that you want to do, professionals have far more experience and knowledge at recognizing certain pitfalls around the home that could endanger your dad or mom.
Keep the risk low and prevent accidents from happening to your aging loved ones by following the steps outlined above.
