Aging in Place: Advantages and Challenges to Consider When Planning with Your Parents
First, let’s define it: the decision to “age in place” is the decision to not move to a different living situation – either an assisted living environment, a nursing home, or any other living situation which is different than where you live now.
There are many advantages of aging in place, and also some challenges. For most people, the decision is based on whether the advantages outweigh the challenges.
5 advantages of aging in place
Some of the advantages are:
You remain in a home that is full of memories and is “where your heart is”
You are surrounded by all your “stuff” and you don’t have to give it away because you are moving into a smaller space
You remain in a familiar neighborhood, with familiar shops and services
You maintain your current circle of friends
You don’t have to go through the stress of a move and all that that entails
Challenges to consider when an aging parent stays in their home
Some of the challenges include:
Finding someone to help with those tasks of daily living that have become difficult to manage alone
Getting to appointments and/or getting errands done – particularly if you no longer drive (although sometimes those tasks are a bit much even if you do drive)
Being more alone than in the past; often friends and neighbors have either moved away or died, so loneliness is a real issue for those remaining in their own homes
The cost, and headache, of maintaining a home. Someone needs to oversee and pay for the on-going maintenance – the leaky faucet, the window that is stuck closed, the exterior paint that’s peeling. It’s not just the cost of those repairs, it is the proactive handling of them so that they don’t cause bigger problems.
Making design changes to the home to accommodate the needs of someone who may see less well and be more at risk of a fall
Assessing the weight of each of these advantages and challenges takes time and careful consideration. Some may be deal breakers (for example if you can’t find a caregiver to come to the home then all the “advantages” are lost). Some may be factors, but not deal breakers (for example staying in one’s own home may be more important than having friends nearby).
Let us help you in reaching a right decision
Westchester Senior Home Care can help. We are trained to listen, and to ask really, really good questions – questions that can help you come to some answers.
We can help you consider new perspectives and can offer ways of looking at the situation from different angles; as you get clearer about what is most important, solutions begin to emerge. And of course, if one of those solutions is the decision to hire a caregiver, we can help you find just the right person – someone who will get to know your parent and become a true companion as well as someone who makes life easier for him or her (or you, as the adult child who worries).
Together we will decide what qualities are most important and whether a live-in or live-out schedule works best.