At a younger age, it is very difficult to picture what life is like while older. Many of the day-to-day tasks are taken for granted. Not only that, but your body starts to limit its functions and simple tasks require much more effort and energy. With the development of technology, life expectancy tends to arise in all parts of the world. According to a report called “The Aging World,” done by the United States Census Bureau, the present percentage of elderly people in the world will rise from 8.5% to 16.7% within the next 30 years. As getting older is inevitable, you might want to prepare for your future and make sure that you are comfortable when age starts to become a huge factor. Also, you want to consider the options for your loved ones. Elderly people require extra care and you want to make sure that they have all the assistance they need, when you are older, assistance is not a luxury, it becomes a necessity, In this blog, we will list some of the things that older people have trouble within their day-to-day lives, where support is needed, and a daily routine is needed.
Grocery Shopping
Driving to the supermarket, doing groceries, and cooking are very difficult tasks when you are older. Mobility becomes very difficult, for driving, your eyesight is not as good as it used to be, and pushing a shopping cart around becomes incredibly hard. These are only the limitations that come with getting to the grocery store. A senior care franchise is always able to assist the elder. If you end up suffering from any injuries or conditions that limit your movement, doing this by yourself is impossible. When getting to the supermarket, difficulties will also be there. Most of the supermarkets arrange their products in a way that the most used products, such as milk or eggs, are in the far back of the store. Therefore, a long walk is required. As we know, younger people are not always mindful or respectful of the elders around them, so impatient looks can be expected from someone behind you. Buying products is also another hard task. Reading labels and being familiar with current brands is not exactly a breeze for the more experienced - even as a 20 year old, I can have trouble reading labels, imagine when I’m older. I know for a fact that I would want a senior day care franchise to do that task with me. Many of them offer meal programs for seniors as well as weekly deliveries.
Meal-Prepping
After all the hassle of getting the food, you will need to cook it. Sharp knives and stoves become a death threat. As a senior, extra care is needed to cook. Creativity is also necessary when meal-planning and being older, that might be the last thing you want to worry about. A good solution for this is either ordering a delivery service with scheduled meals for your loved ones, hire someone to cook for the person, calling local communities and checking if they provide food, or checking in with top senior care franchises that might be able to do or have this service.
Hygiene
Keeping up good personal hygiene is not only beneficial for those around you, but also your health. Regular showers are crucial for preventing skin problems, regularly brushing your teeth prevents teeth and gum diseases, and if you end up suffering from incontinence for example (very common for seniors) you want to make sure that you are extra up-to-date with your hygiene. This becomes an issue when bathrooms are not equipped with the proper equipment for an elderly person to take a shower independently. Some of the things that we often do not think about are that a walk-in tub is slippery and hard to get in, doing multiple tasks while standing up under the water also requires some ability that we often take for granted. In order to ensure that this elderly person has a smoother process and does not get hurt while taking care of their personal hygiene is installing shower seats and shower handle-bars. If the senior is in a senior day care franchise you will know that the place is already equipped with all of these.
Getting Dressed
Just like bathing, getting dressed also needs some extra assistance. Top senior care franchises provide extra tools to help seniors put on socks and shoes, and grabber tools that can make the routine a lot easier. You also want to make sure that the clothing facilitates the senior, rather than the contrary. Comfortable pieces of clothing and ergonomic shoes are a must-have. Also, while getting ready, consider the grooming process and how seniors can have an extra hand. An extra-long handled brush, ergonomic nail clippers, and comfortable benches are very handy at this time as well.
Overall, getting older is not easy. In order to maintain comfort and dignity in the life of seniors, we need to make sure that all places are able to accommodate them well. While it is not standard for every bathroom to have a handle-bar, you want where the senior spends most of his or her time to be equipped with tools like such. When we are younger, it is easy to not consider how we will complete our day-to-day tasks when aging comes. If you have a loved one already in the older years, you want to make sure that they have a comfortable life. Top senior care franchises have mastered the day-to-day lives of elders and know exactly what they need. This is something you might want to consider for you and your family. After all, our day-to-day tasks involve doing our basic necessities, that are necessary for our health and for making sure we are ready to partake in social activities and doing the things that we love.
