How to Help Your Senior Attend to Home Maintenance

If your senior is still in their own home, it’s probably because they value their independence and freedom. While this is terrific, sometimes your elderly parent’s wishes and goals don’t match up with their physical abilities. In this situation, they can typically benefit from some assistance from a senior care professional.

Particularly when it comes to home maintenance, help from a Durham elder care professional can become tremendously useful. They work with your senior to maintain their property, leaving their living space beautiful. This individual can also help to hire professionals to tend to the home, doing gardening, painting, and other necessary tasks. 

If your senior is resistant to the idea of hiring others to take care of their home, respect their feelings. Have an honest conversation with them about why they may benefit from this kind of assistance, and don’t dismiss their emotions quickly. For many people, taking care of their property is a point of pride, and not being able to do this anymore can upset them greatly. 

If your elderly loved one is showing resistance to the idea of having help at home, try saying something like, “Mom/Dad, I know you love your home. Let’s keep it looking beautiful by hiring someone to help out. This way you don’t have to shovel snow or mow the lawn, but you can still enjoy a home that looks great.”

Also make sure that your elderly parent is able to weigh in on issues surrounding the house. For instance, if the kitchen needs to be painted, let them select the color. They can also work with you to make a decision about which painter they’d like to use. This allows them to feel involved in the process, without forcing them to take on taxing labor on their own. 

However, while it’s important to protect your senior’s health and well-being, it is also necessary to understand when to let them get more closely involved in the day-to-day maintenance of a home. Gardening, for example, is a hobby that many seniors find therapeutic. While it is somewhat physically demanding, it is not nearly as labor intensive as shoveling a walkway or painting a room in a home. For this reason, family members should encourage their elderly loved ones to get active in the garden. So long as they focus on proper posture and listen to their bodies, this is a highly relaxing and enjoyable way to make a home look beautiful.