It is a question many adult children in Connecticut find themselves asking. Is my aging parent safe living alone? For most seniors, there comes a time when they will no longer be safe living alone without some form of assistance. But just the idea of tackling this subject with an aging parent can cause anxiety for adult children.
If you are trying to decide if it is time to talk with your parent about home care and senior safety technologies, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- How far do you live from your aging loved one? If they don’t answer the phone when you feel like they should and don’t return your call, are you close enough to quickly get to their house to check on them?
- What are they doing to manage maintenance tasks around the house when you can’t be there? Are they climbing ladders to clean out gutters or change light bulbs? Moving the sofa alone to vacuum behind it?
- Are they still safe driving themselves to the grocery store, post office and physician appointments? One way to determine that is to ride along with them on your next visit.
- If your aging parent isn’t as steady on their feet as they used to be, how are they performing tasks such as taking out the trash or loading and unloading groceries from the car?
- Do they have any health conditions that make it more difficult or even dangerous for them to prepare meals? Parkinson’s disease and arthritis are two that make chopping and cutting more difficult to do safely. Slower reflexes can also make it harder to react quickly in the event of a kitchen flare or fire.
- Are you concerned about how inaccessible their bath tub is? The bathroom is the room of the home where people experience to highest number of disabling falls.
In most cases, these are all concerns that can be managed with the support of an in-home caregiver a few hours a day or week and newer technologies. To create a custom senior care solution for your Connecticut loved one, please call Assisted Living Services today at (203) 634-8668 for a complimentary consultation.
