Your parents have spent the majority of their lives independent and self-responsible, helping you to navigate through a world of experiences as you grew into your own life, and now the tides have turned and they’re in need of your support.
When your elderly parents reach the “decision making point” – the time when a choice needs to be made so they’re keeping a good quality of life and able to meet their daily needs with assistance – thoughtful decisions are needed. Choices lie between reliable homecare services that can help them to remain comfortable in their own home for as long as possible, a care or retirement facility, or moving in with you.
Making room for Mom and Dad is a scenario that’s increasingly being played out by grown children across Canada, especially for baby boomers with children of their own to care for. It’s a time of transitions, adjustments, and major challenges for everyone. As the grown child, your life can’t help but drastically change and you may faced with controlling the TV volume for your hard of hearing mother, meal planning to suit dietary restrictions, dealing with mood swings (yours or theirs), or playing chauffeur. Primary caregivers responsible for their parents’ care often need to reduce their working schedules to meet the increased demands at home, placing financial strain as the cherry on top.
Not that it’s any easier for the parents to move under your roof. Aging parents are transitioning into an unknown world themselves, often slowly losing their abilities while facing medical problems and feelings of guilt for needing your daily assistance. They may feel shame at needing you to bathe them or assist with grooming. No doubt they’re frustrated, too.
Solutions? At Premier Homecare Services, we have flexible schedules personalized to meet your needs and we offer all the services you need to help your parents remain independent. Whether they are helped to stay in their own home, or you have some extra help around yours, Premier Caregivers can help. If you’d like more information, please contact your local office.
RELATED POSTS & RESOURCES:
Transitioning from Hospital to Homecare – Premier Homecare Services Blog
When Caregiver Expectations Turn into Frustrations – Premier Homecare Services Blog
When Mom/Dad Move In – National Association of Social Workers, Help Starts Here
100 years ago your life expectancy would have been in your 40s. Today, Canadians are now expected to reach about 80 – a doubling of life expectancy.
Recently, I talked with a friend about what age we’d like to reach if we were given the choice. I feel like we all must know someone who says “live fast, die young,” or “I’m not going anywhere for a while.” Call it intuition, but I’ve always felt that I’m going to live a long life, not of the centenarian variety, but a long enough life with what I hope will be a good quality of life.
Quality AND Quantity
That’s the key. Living a full, long life is wonderful, but only when it’s accompanied by a positive quality of life with which to enjoy it. We want to remain physically active with mental acuity. It appears that centenarians, or those who live to be over 100, often have this right combination.
Here’s what centenarians have in common, according to the Boston University School of Medicine’s New England Centenarian Study:
- Most centenarians are slim or lean, not obese.
- Extensive smoking habits are rare.
- Are better able to handle stress and life’s difficulties.
- Are less likely to get dementia.
- Appears to be a genetic link, with many children following
in their parents’ footsteps. - And here’s an interesting one, most centenarian women gave birth
after the age of 35 or 40 through natural conception. In fact, a woman
in this case is 4 times more likely to be a centenarian!
If you’re looking to be one of the 14,000 centenarians expected to be living in Canada by 2031, then you might want to start making some changes for longevity. And if that’s not old enough for you, the number 150 made headlines when a biomedical gerontologist and chief scientist of a foundation dedicated to longevity research announced his belief that 150 years will soon be realized. He views aging as something to be managed, much like an illness or disease.
Why not leave a comment sharing how old you’d like to be? What is your favourite anti-aging tip?
At Premier Homecare Services, our personalized services help you or your loved ones remain independent, where most comfortable, for as long as possible. We’d love to tell you how! Please contact a local office to speak with us or to schedule a free, in-home assessment.
To health, to life!
RELATED POSTS & RESOURCES:
Is this Normal Aging or Not? WebMD Article by M.C. Marill
Increase your Longevity – Canadian Living Magazine, A. Bokma
10 Fun ways to live longer – Article by Dr. Mark Stibich
When it comes to longevity of life, keeping friends close is more important than family. People with many friends live longer than those with fewer friends and social interactions. While having good friends makes our lives richer and longer, the same isn’t true for family.
In a 10-year study of people aged 70 and older, researchers at the Centre for Ageing Studies (Flinders University,Australia), found that maintaining a network of close friends is more likely than good family relationships to increase longevity in older adults.
People with extensive networks of friends, confidantes and companions outlived those with the fewest friends by 22 percent, a remarkable difference. Also, the positive effects of friendships continued throughout the decade-long study, despite profound life changes such as death of a spouse.
While friendships may be a marker for longevity, it’s not to discredit the important role of family to older adults. It’s simply that this study found that family has little effect on survival and longevity.
Why is friendship so important to longevity?
During our lives friends come and go with hopefully a few close ones that we can rely on in times of need. Having someone to turn to when times get tough, to lend a sympathetic ear, can be a distinct advantage over those with no one else to talk too. Friends offer coping mechanisms, support and advice, as well as having positive effects on mood and self-esteem.
At Premier Homecare Services, our professional caregivers provide companionship and can assist your aging loved one with mobility issues to safely get out and meet with friends. If you would like more information to help your loved ones to remain more independent, healthy and happy, please contact a local office.
RELATED POSTS & RESOURCES:
How and Why You Should Maintain Friendships – Article by Elizabeth Scott, M.S.
Getting the Most from your Homecare Agency – Premier Homecare Services Blog
The Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing – Centre for Ageing Studies, Flinders University