If your parents live independently and far from you, it can be a challenge to ensure that their needs are adequately met.
This is especially true if they lack a nearby support system that’ll watch over them in case any health issues arise.
As we age, it’s completely natural for our bodies to experience a slowdown in efficiency and strength.
While they may be happy living independently now, who’s to say that they’ll not fall to neurodegenerative disease or physical ailments in the near future?
That said, you shouldn’t automatically book a plane ticket and pack your luggage at the first sign of your parent’s failing health.
With the right techniques and services, you can both live your personal life and care for your parents—even when you’re hundreds of kilometres apart!
Here are some ways you can support your ageing parents from a distance.
1. Change Their Environment
When there are tell-tale signs that your parents can no longer support themselves in their home, it might be necessary to discuss the possibility of changing their living arrangement.
There are many ways you can tell that your parents would benefit greatly from this change. A primary decision-maker, for instance, is a lack of financial backing to live or rent a home.
While many countries have comprehensive grants to support the elderly and financially-strapped individuals, it’s oftentimes not enough—especially considering the reality of rising housing costs all across the globe.
Furthermore, deteriorating health is also a valid reason for the family to consider switching living arrangements.
The most obvious action is for your parents to move in with you. However, if that’s not feasible, there are plenty of aged care facilities and retirement villages around the world that have the facilities to accommodate elderly people. You can browse a range of well-resourced communities here.
2. Assess Your Ability to Help
Even if your heart is in the right place, you need to recognise the reality that you can’t help your parent in every facet of their life from a distance.
That said, it’s more than possible to provide and organise assistance for them from afar.
For instance, if you’re financially capable, you can send a fraction of your monthly income to help them get by. You can even choose to get billed for their utility costs to give you peace of mind.
If you aren’t willing to give money, you can provide aid through other means. For instance, you can set up a joint bank account to track your parent’s spending. You can also enlist the help of their neighbours for errand work like buying groceries.
Another way you can help is by being in close contact with your parent’s physician and getting a thorough rundown of their medication. You can also provide emotional support to your parents through digital communicative tools like FaceTime and social media messaging apps.
By far the best way to provide help is by allowing them to live in senior-friendly villages and facilities. This way, they’ll be properly cared for and have a gamut of facilities they can access right by their doorstep. All while providing you peace of mind.
3. Talk About It With Your Family
Every family dynamic is different. As much as possible, you shouldn’t attempt to tackle all the challenges of senior care on your own.
If you have siblings, it’s important to divide the tasks of senior care appropriately. For instance, you can equally provide financial support to your parents or have it customised on a needs-based basis.
The only way to hash through it all is by talking with all the relevant parties involved. If you can get your other relatives on board, that’s even better.
You can conduct discussions through digital communication tools like FaceTime if everyone is far away. If there’s an upcoming family reunion sometime soon, you may also talk about it then.
Everyone needs to commit to the plan, as one dismissive member can lead to dire consequences.
Of course, it’s also important to be fully transparent with your parents during these discussions. They should have a say in the resources allocated to them. Their consent is key for your family’s assistance program to work—so do keep them in the loop as often as you can.
4. Plan Regular Visits
Planning regular visits are a great way to provide you and your parents with emotional reassurance. It’s also a good way for you and your siblings to assess their living conditions and overall living arrangement.
It’s also something that both parties can look forward to—much more so for your parents.
Of course, with the distances involved and the pressing responsibilities of adulthood, not everyone is available to visit on a weekly or even monthly basis.
Therefore, it’s important to create a reasonable schedule that takes into account everyone’s availability, finances, and other responsibilities.
This time, you can use your creativity. Can you use vacation time or long weekends for a visit? What about combining a business trip with a personal visit?
Besides simply stopping over to say hi, you can also use this time to ensure that everything behind the scenes is in working order. This means you should meet with neighbours, healthcare workers, or aged care facility staff so that you can get an updated look at your parent’s health.
5. Utilise Professional Help
From career progression to one’s own family, there are many things that the average adult will have to juggle in their life.
And while we’d love to be able to do it all, it’s not always feasible to do so.
Fortunately, there is a slew of professional services like home care nurses that can provide the right care for your ageing parents.
And unlike requesting the next-door neighbour for aid, these people are professionally trained to care for senior-aged individuals, from preparing their daily medication to cleaning their rooms.
For any busy adult, these services can be invaluable, particularly if your parents have serious health issues or if you are unable to visit regularly.
The cost can often be offset by long-term care insurance or other funding options, so do try researching what’s locally available to you.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.