Just Stopping by to Check on Dad Isn’t Improving His Safety at Home

It’s great when you’re in a position to help your aging mother or father, such as stopping by to see if they need anything, helping them around the yard, or even getting something down from the attic. But, if you are just stopping by to check in on your aging father, is that really helping him when it comes to safety?

In-Home Care Franklin TN - Just Stopping by to Check on Dad Isn’t Improving His Safety at Home

In-Home Care Franklin TN – Just Stopping by to Check on Dad Isn’t Improving His Safety at Home

Maybe it is to some degree. Perhaps when you do stop by after work a couple of times a week, he asks you to run a few errands for him around the house. Maybe you go out and bring in the mail, take out the garbage, or pick up a few sticks that fell down during the autumn storms.

But, for the most part, are you doing anything to improve his safety at home as a senior? Keep in mind that as people get older, their physical strength declines.

Even if your father is exercising regularly and has been for most of his adult life, he will be losing strength. There is simply no getting around that basic fact. He will get weaker the older he is.

As a result, simple tasks will become much more challenging. And, his safety will become more compromised with age.

How can you improve his safety?

There are plenty of things you can do that can immediately improve an elderly person’s overall safety in the comfort of their house. Relying on in-home care is one of the best.

Of course, not everybody is going to be interested in hiring an in-home care aide, even if it’s only for a couple of hours once or twice a week. However, an experienced in-home care provider can improve safety by performing the tasks with him or for him that become more challenging.

For example, your father might not be steady on his feet while stepping into and out of the tub. An in-home care aide could help in and then get him situated on a shower seat so he can take care of the rest.

You could also encourage him to install grab bars in and around the tub or shower. These grab bars will allow him to hold onto them as he gets in and out of the shower. Instead of relying on you or somebody else, making a tense situation more uncomfortable, this is a great way to immediately improve his safety that goes far beyond just stopping by and checking in on him to see “how things are going.”

Keep in mind that stopping by can be a great asset for him, but it’s not improving his safety like you may have thought.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering In-Home Care Services in Franklin TN, please contact the caring staff at Touching Hearts at Home. Serving Middle Tennessee (Nashville, Brentwood, Belle Meade, Franklin, Spring Hill, Columbia, Pulaski, and more!) Call today: 629-203-7925.

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