All through our lives as children and young adults, our parents go above and beyond to be there to help guide and raise us. As our parents get older, the wish to repay them is common. There are many simple ways to show kindness and guidance to aging parents. There are a couple things that should be considered for helping aging parents.
Look Into Senior Driving Insurance
A good thing to consider doing for your aging parents is to look into senior driving insurance. Many older individuals greatly value their independence and freedom. Driving is one of the greatest freedoms of adult life. As we age, there will eventually come a time when driving is no longer safe, however, sometimes insurance companies feel this time is much earlier than the general population. Many insurance companies are strict on senior drivers and will even at times charge them more for insurance coverage. Giving up an existing policy for a senior driving policy can often times save hundreds of dollars a year.
Encourage Them To Stay Active
As individuals get older, it is common for them to want to stay at home more. A key to staying healthy and mobile especially as individual age is to keep active. With encouragement from family members, aging parents can keep active and better physically fit as they age. Keeping aging parents active can be as simple as encouraging them to go for a walk with you a couple times a week, or encouraging them to join the local senior citizens center. Staying active does not have to be with leaps and bounds, it can be simple acts such as these.
Help Them Downsize In Their Lives
As parents grow older, that huge house may no longer be necessary, especially if they are living alone in it. Unless a home has been in the family for many years or has sentimental value to it, downsizing to a smaller, more accessible home is sometimes good. Downsizing does not have to just be home size though. Throughout our lives we tend to accumulate a large amount of random junk. As a child, you can help your aging parent downsize on the amount of belongings they have without being bossy. Sometimes belongings accumulate just because going through and cleaning out is too much of a task to perform alone. This is where you can help your aging parent by offering to help clean.
Call Them Regularly
Older individuals tend to get lonely a lot easier than younger individuals. Calling your parents regularly is a simple task that can make their day or week. Another benefit of calling your aging parents regularly is to ensure everything is going well and they are doing alright on their own. Many individuals will not admit when they start to need help due to not wanting to lose their independence. If you are calling and checking up regularly, you can get a sense of how well your parents are doing and if help is needed.
There are many simple tasks that can go a long way with helping aging parents. Whether it is helping them with bills such as driving insurance, keeping them motivated to stay active, helping them downsize, or just calling regularly, all of these acts are simple acts of kindness that will mean the world to aging parents.
I’m terrible at calling my grandparents regularly and I’m also bad at calling my parents, though they have a way to go before they fit into this category. With that being said, I know every time I do call my grandma or my parents they really appreciate it.
I really wish that my parents would downsize. My mom has bad knees and I hate watching her constantly go up and down the stairs. I really wish that they would get a small ranch house that would be easier for them to take care of.
I would also discuss them purchasing long-term care insurance. It can really be helpful should there be nursing home needs later in life.
I agree with Brian, provided that the price is right. Often parents don’t have enough to protect to make LTC worthwhile….but in the case of enough assets, LTC can be an estate saver.
My father passed away 4 years ago but my mom is doing well. She’s very independent. Has a social life and travels. I forget she’s almost 75. Recently my boyfriend mentioned a job offer in another province and she wasn’t happy. I realized want she wants most is her kids and grandkids around. I am making an effort to call and drop by more often. It’s at these times I remember how much fun and wonderful she is. I want to make the most of the time we have.