5 Important Tasks You Should Always Help Elderly Family Members With
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Watching your family members age can be a difficult process, and you will most likely want to help them as much as you can as this happens. Of course, they will want to retain some of their independence, but there are several things that you can do to help them with things that they cannot do on their own. The following are five important tasks you should always help your elderly family members with.
Lawn Maintenance
As people age, their ability to do extensive yard work will dwindle. You may consider tackling the larger duties of maintaining their property such as mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, and edging the yard. In the fall and winter, you may clean the gutters and shovel the walkways for them. These chores may seem simple but can actually be dangerous to the elderly. Many elderly people enjoy gardening, so leaving simple tasks such as watering potted plants may be left to them.
Car Maintenance
If your elderly family member still drives, keeping the automobile properly maintained is key. You don’t want your family member to be stranded on the side of the road, but maintaining the car may be something that they don’t think of. Keeping their automobile in good running condition is important to keep them safe on the road.
Finances
The elderly are a big target for people who are trying to cheat others out of their money. There are stories that appear in the news every day that tell of an elderly person who has lost all of his or her retirement due to the fraudulent behavior of someone else. If you help your family member by paying their bills or making sure that an unsavory character doesn’t have access to their financial information, you could be protecting their future and the future of their heirs. If your family member is eligible for additional benefits such as social security disability, you may also want to help them get in touch with a Salt Lake disability attorney who can facilitate the process.
Doctors’ Appointments
It is important for your elderly family member to keep up with their doctors’ appointments, which will probably be increasing in number as they age. Keeping a calendar of appointments and volunteering to drive them to their appointments will ensure that they stay healthy and get the medical care and prescriptions that they need.
Organizing Medications
As people age, their memory often begins to fail. If your elderly family member forgets to take medication or takes a medication twice, it could be detrimental or even fatal. Helping them organize their medications into a pill organizer is something that takes very little time but can be very helpful in keeping them safe.
As family members age, it is normal to want to help them as much as possible. Helping them with their finances, lawn and car maintenance, and helping them with doctors’ appointments and prescription medications are simple ways you can make their lives easier.
