Planning for retirement can be a family affair. You can be involved in helping your parents retire, whether that means they stay in their home or choose to go into retirement living. By involving yourself in your parent’s retirement plans, you can make sure they have what they need to continue to live a healthy and enjoyable life that guarantees they’ll be around a lot longer.
Primary Concerns upon Retirement
When there are loved ones involved, they can help their parents to negotiate some simple solutions to everyday living. However, many modern families tend to be dispersed across large distances. In that case, the children can still act as advocates and advisers, but leave the actual manual help to professionals. Here are a few things your parents will need help with:
Mobility
Let’s face it, when we age it’s harder to move around. Even if you have all your motor skills, your eyes can fail you enough to make it dangerous to drive. To keep your parents mobile, make sure they have the equipment they need in the home and out and about town. Make sure showers are equipped with handle bars. Investigate if they qualify for a stroller or folding wheel chair through the Medicare program. Many cities also have senior and disabled vans to help transport Mom and Dad to and from appointments or events.
Meals
It can be harder to get motivated to cook for just one or two. Sometimes, arthritic hands or forgetful minds make the task impossible. If you’re not there to make sure they are stocking the refrigerator or eating well, then you should look for a Meal on Wheels program to provide a nutritious meal for them. They will also do a safety check.
Housing
At some point, it will make more sense to consider a retirement home than keeping someone elderly in a dangerous situation alone at home. Today’s retirement homes can be like resort living and can provide medical supervision in cases where your parents are chronically ill. Also, the quantity of these homes and retirement communities is quite large. From the Elms Retirement Village to Del Boca Vista, There are many to choose from, and reviews and ratings can be found all over the internet.
Whether you choose to assist your parents to live at home or to transfer to a retirement home, they’ll continue to rely on your for help with their accounts and medical conditions. By making the transition as smooth as possible, you can show them you care.
Earnest Parenting: help for parents wanting to help their own parents.