We can barely understand the amount of work, care and support it requires for a parent to raise a child until we are faced with parenthood. Another way to experience this utterly selfless experience is when your parents are growing old or ailing. However, there is only a certain time you can take care of them at home until they need to be sent to an assisted living facility or a senior care home.
As parents come to depend on their children, they are required to assume the duties of a caregiver and the provider at the same time. In a joint family structure, these challenges become much less overwhelming, with multiple members coming to the aid of the parent figure. However, for nuclear families, this becomes a lot harder, and negligence can often occur, which can lead to some serious harm.
A senior citizen day care center is structured specifically for working adults who have a parent at home that needs taking care of. When you have a full-time office job, it becomes impossible to look after your parents, and often, leaving them alone at home for 8-9 hours can be risky.
Daycare centres offer the perfect solution by looking after your loved ones throughout your office hours and taking them back on their way home.
Nonetheless, when you have elderly or sick parents at home, there are a few things that you can do to make their stay at home comfortable at best.
Basic Care & Hygiene
Illness and age can together break a person down and prevent them from following the basic or regular routines of the day without any support or assistance. From nutritional food to clothing and proper sleep, every aspect of an ailing parent’s life has to be monitored to give them optimal care and be there with them in tough times.
Emotional & Behavioural Support
The senior citizen living homes are more in tune with the emotional and behavioural conduct as they are trained for this very purpose. Sick parents usually lose touch with the outside world and are cut off from social exposure, leaving them lonely and helpless in the confinements of a home. This is why they need more compassion and support, whether they are at home or living in a care facility.
Memory & Cognitive Simulation
With the advanced age, the body and the mind deteriorate at an unprecedented rate if not kept under medical control. The memory and cognitive systems are two things that get impacted severely, triggering the onset of memory-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Dementia and Amnesia. If your parents show such signs of chronic forgetfulness or have been diagnosed with any memory-related disorders, dementia care homes will be the best option to proceed with.
Healthcare & Medicational Needs
As age progresses, all health complications start to plummet, and a proper healthcare plan needs to be enforced to ensure that medical supports a better life and longevity. For example, pressure medication and other chronic illnesses require regular monitoring and medical relief prescribed by certified healthcare professionals. An assisted living in India has professional caregivers appointed to each member for conducting specialised care and treatment programs.
Communication & Social Involvement
With the withdrawal from the world and social situations, elderly parents tend to communicate less, which may further impact their speech and verbal communication skills. If they are at home, family members must try to initiate conversations or encourage and lead them to be socially involved in a community of like-minded people.
Safety & Security
A day care centre for senior citizens promises a community for senior parents to find comfort and peace. These facilities usually have sufficient outdoor space with well-guarded campus security. As their ability to take care of themselves declines and with other illnesses, they must always be kept in safe premises and secured by professional guards at all times.
Conclusion
Assuming the responsibilities of elderly parents who also have long-term health conditions can become a hectic task for family members, especially if they have other commitments to attend to almost regularly. Home-based caregivers can assist to an extent, after which the health and mental condition may contribute to considering other options. For instance, care for dementia patients needs to be thoroughly discussed and monitored by doctors and adequately looked after in a memory care facility.
