Are you moving into a new home? Have elderly parents and want to everything convenient for them? So, first, start with making your new home competent to cater to the special needs of your elder parents. Don’t know how?
Read along to know tips on how you can make your home safer for your aging parents.
- Opt for Friendly Floors: Slips, falls, trips are quite common among elderly people. They are more susceptible to such accidents due to their body weakness. Therefore, make sure all floors in your house are slip-resistant.
- Avoid using ceramic, marble, and tile-based floorings.
- Put antiskid rugs and mats in the most commonly used areas.
- Use anti-slip tiles for bathroom flooring.
- Repair uneven or cracked areas.
- Improving accessibility and movement: To facilitate easy movement for elderly people to equip your home with proper infrastructure.
- Install ramps wherever possible.
- If your parents use a walker or wheelchair, make sure the spaces have enough space to accommodate them.
- Keep common commute areas clutter-free and clean.
- Affix handrails on both sides of the stairs.
- Keep the stairway properly lit.
- Choose flattened door saddles.
- Choose the right kind of lighting: Supplement your home with proper lighting. Dark rooms may vulnerable to slip and falls. So, make sure every room including the entryway, hallway, doorway, bathrooms are well-lit.
- Use bright lighting that clearly highlights things without producing a shadowing effect.
- Use contrasting light hues for separating spaces.
- Avoid using overhead lights as they do no illuminate all corners in a room.
- Small Yet Powerful Strategies to make Your home Elder Friendly
When buying furniture online, make sure you opt for designs that are senior-friendly. Moreover, incorporating thoughtful changes in your home accessories can help improve your parents’ life. Some of the changes that can assist elderly people to stay safe and convenient include:
- Place things of their use at a comfortable level. This will make them feel self-reliant and contended.
- In the bedroom make sure the switches are placed right next to their bed.
- Install pull cord switch for lights around the house.
- Store items at an appropriate height to eliminate the need for climbing, stretching, or bending.
- Use chair designs that offer comfortable seating and getting up.
- Replace doorknobs with lever-style handles for easy operability.
- Purchase furniture with rounded edges and fewer detachable parts.
- Install hand-rails and grab bars in the bathroom and other areas that are difficult to walk through.
- Install emergency response systems such as a call bell.
- You could also buy hospital beds for them. It enables seniors to adjust the height of their bed, lowering the amount of strength and coordination required to get into and out of bed.
- Equip a metal plate at the bathroom door so that it can be opened from both sides in case of an emergency.
Takeaway
Making your home elder-friendly will keep your parents independent. It will boost up your parents’ morale and will thereby help them stay happy. So, be attentive and incorporate these thoughtful changes in your home. This will help you go a long way in making your parents feel comfortable and stress-free.