If you have elderly parents who have decided to age in place instead of going to an aged care facility, you as the child have a moral duty to look after them and ensure their safety and comfort. It is your chance to give to everything that your parents have given you for so many years, to make them appreciate your love and gratitude in their twilight years.
Now, if you’ve been thinking about giving them some pleasant surprises, there are some excellent ways to do it. Since you won’t always be at home to look after your elderly folks, what better way to delight them than to have home upgrades that will give them a high level of comfort, safety, and enjoyment every day?
Here are some awesome home upgrades that would surely make your parents happy:
Automatic doors
Doors are among the busiest parts of any home, which is why they have to be as convenient to open and close if you have elderly parents living with you. While doors with levers are good enough to have to make it convenient for your senior parents, automatic sliding doors or auto sliders are way better and more convenient. These automatic doors have techie features such as programmable opening timers and sensors that make access in and out of rooms easy-peasy. They are particularly helpful if your parents have mobility issues (like being in a wheelchair) since they could move around the house without lifting a finger, quite literally.
Walk-in tub
If your elderly parents have some difficulties in taking care of themselves, a walk-in tub is a great upgrade to consider. While an ADA-compliant tub costs over $1,000, the convenience and safety that it can offer are simply priceless. Some of the best walk-in tubs in the market are fitted with a non-slip floor, grab bars, and even massaging jets. Just browse online shops to find walk-in tubs with features that would perfectly fit your senior parents’ needs.
Smart home appliances
These days, technology has allowed homeowners to live in a residence that seems to have a mind of its own. With appliances that have intelligent sensors and some other cool tech, smart homes are becoming more and more common as property owners realize the need to avail of such groundbreaking innovations. Today, there are light bulbs that activate when triggered by movements, as well as programmable thermostats with learning capabilities that allow them to adjust temperatures based on the observed living patterns of occupants. There are plenty of modern home appliances and fixtures that sport smart technology, so getting ones that your parents would love should be an easy affair on your end.
Handrails, grab bars, and access ramps
Your parents should live in a home that is free from anything that could cause accidents and injuries. Additionally, homes should be fitted with accessories that would make them accessible for elderly occupants with physical difficulties moving around. Among the best that you can have to enhance safety and accessibility in and out of your home are access ramps, grab bars, and handrails. There are lots of these items that you can buy online or from physical stores that specialize in such products. Installation can be done DIY-style or you could just hire professionals for reliable and quick installation.
Lifts
If your home has two or more floors, stairlifts are definitely among the items that you should invest in. There are plenty of companies that manufacture great-quality stairlifts that are sturdy and easy to use, so you just need to check out their features to find the one that satisfies your parents’ needs and meets your budget requirement. Make sure that the stairlift you’re buying is sturdy enough to support your parents’ weight and big enough to accommodate their bodies. These considerations are critical since a weak or small lift could only expose your parents to potential fall accidents.
Slip-proof flooring. Whether your parents are using a wheelchair to move around the house, or they are still physically capable of walking on two feet, it’s critical to have a floor surface that is not a slip hazard. If your present floor surface is on the shiny end of things, then upgrading it to a slip-proof one is a nice investment. Since elderly people have brittle bones, they highly likely to suffer from a debilitating, even fatal, injury if a slip incident occurs. Slip-proof flooring is an answer to that problem.
With these great home upgrades, your parents will surely be all smiles and thankful to you.
