Remodel Your Home to Accommodate Elderly Family Members

Many if not all Filipinos have always found it only right to have their aging parents or grandparents live at home with them, instead of relocating them to nursing homes, retirement villages and other similar accommodations for the elderly. As their children or grandchildren, we want to take on the responsibility of caring for them just like they did for us when we were young. Making a number of important renovations to your house will really help you accomplish your responsibility of keeping them safe.

All over your home:

• If your house has two or three stories, it would be better to have them stay in a room on the ground floor to avoid accidents while repeatedly using the stairs. In case all of the bedrooms are in the second floor and there is no room to spare on the first, affix a hand rail on the wall along the stairs to provide additional support.

• Soft lighting might make it difficult for them to make their way to different places in the house, so replace them with more intense fluorescent lamps.

• If they need wheelchairs to get from one place to another, it would be helpful to adjust the positioning of your furniture to keep the pathways clear, and to equip entryways with ramps.

• For floor surfaces that are a bit on the slippery side, wall-to-wall carpeting could be an option; laying rugs around the house won’t help much because if they don’t lie flat, your relatives can trip on them.

The bedroom:

• If walking proves too difficult for them to do, encourage them to ask for assistance in doing something by placing a bell in their room that they can ring to get attention.

• It would be better to put their clothes and other personal things in the room where they won’t have to bend over to reach, since many elderly people find bending to be too painful to do.

The kitchen:

• Place their plate, glass and utensils on the kitchen counter, table or any other place where they can be easily found, instead of putting them away in drawers and cabinets.

• Prevent them from having to reach high or bend low to use cooking devices like the microwave oven by placing them at waist level.

• You can ensure that they will easily find the important information that you write down like emergency numbers, as well as your address and phone number, by mounting a notice board on the fridge or on the wall.

The bathroom:

• Keep them from drowning by accident by taking out your bathtub and installing a shower instead.

• Help them brace themselves while showering by affixing a hand rail to the wall. A non-slip mat can further prevent them from slipping and getting hurt.

• Allow them to sit while taking a bath by placing a bench in the shower with them.

Because our grandparents and elderly parents will require assistance in a lot of things, it is necessary for us to make getting around our home easy for them to do. There is no question that some of the changes mentioned will require some money and a bit of an adjustment in our part, but the knowledge that our loved ones are comfortable and secure will be worth it.