As your parents grow older, you probably are thinking about their plans for living arrangements. Most seniors want to stay in their own residence, according to the American Association of Retired People (AARP). But you may need to work a bit on the home to keep it a safe haven for your parents.
Senior independent living means taking care of and handling tripping hazards, dim lighting situations, potentially dangerous stairways and providing extra security in the bathroom. Here are some elder safety tips you can incorporate into your parent’s home:
* Lighting – Seeing clearly is a common difficulty for many seniors, so adding better and extra lighting to the rooms and hallways can help keep your parents from tripping over furniture or bruising themselves by bumping into doorways. Also make sure to incorporate night lighting, so your parents can easily navigate to the bathroom or a different room in the house.
* Rugs or loose carpeting – Falling is probably the biggest danger for seniors, because sometimes they may have difficulty getting back up. Rugs and loose carpeting are big tripping hazards, so consider removing or fixing those in your parent’s home so the flooring is secure.
* Support handles – Another senior safety feature is installing extra grip handles in the bathroom. The shower and tub, and next to the toilet are great places to install these to help give your parents extra support.
* Wide open spaces – Consider clearing the house of extra furniture or other items that might get in the way. And make sure the furniture you leave in the house is in high-quality condition. You might want to reorganize the furniture, allowing clear pathways of travel for your parents, especially to the bathrooms and in the main living area.
If you don’t live close to your parents, you may want to consider contacting senior organizations in their community and finding out if there is a check system available in case you aren’t able to reach your parents over a period of time in their home.
With a safe home, your parents should be able to enjoy living in their house for many years independently.
