Looking After Elderly Parents During A Pandemic

It can be challenging to work out how best to care for your relatives during lockdown. While you might have a brood of your own, you also want to protect your mom and dad who sit in the age bracket that is most vulnerable to the coronavirus. You will have a number of options that you can consider to ease your Covid-19 anxieties. Remember, you have to communicate with your parents at all times and not enforce decisions on them. This is crucial to maintain your positive relationship. Take a look at how you can look after your elderly parents during these surreal days.

Move Them In

If you decide to have your parents move in with you for a little while, you need to consider the practicalities. Firstly, you would all have to self isolate for at least two weeks prior to move in day. Following this, you will need to ensure that you can work from home for the foreseeable future. While your gut tells you that you need your parents under your roof to look after them, if you are heading out to work every day and mixing with others on public transport, you could actually put them in more danger. If you can safely move your parents into your home, you will need to consider the family dynamic which will inevitably shift. More bodies in the house can cause more stress. While having your parents at home to regale your offspring with tales from the olden days, in reality to may find yourself having to care for them more than your own children.

Help Them Retain Independence

If you live far away from your parents, this can heighten your coronavirus worries. However, give some local help groups a call to help your parents feel less isolated. There are plenty of telephone befrienders that can check in with your mom and dad and even carry out grocery and medicine pick-ups in a Covid safe way.

If they need help with cooking and cleaning, some home help may be needed. Keep your eye on the care your parents receive and keep the number of a nursing home abuse lawyer to contact should you notice anything awry in the home. Your parents’ health and safety is paramount at this uncertain time. You could even investigate a meals on wheels service to help ease the physical stress of cooking for your mom and dad.

Care Home

Should your mom or dad be in a care home, visiting has been put on hold for now. This can be devastating to you and your parents. The physical contact we crave that we can no longer enjoy means that we worry when we can hug our parents again. While not ideal, ensure that your mom and dad understand how to use Facetime and Zoom and schedule regular meetings. Having a routine and knowing that they will see their grandchildren at a certain time every week will help to boost morale and leave your parents feeling positive.

Follow this guide and you can look after your elderly parents during a pandemic.

*collaborative post

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