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As a busy mom, you might be suffering from sleep deprivation as many of us are. However, if you have elderly relatives living with you like I do, it is important that you are alert at all times. This can be HARD!
You want to make sure that they don’t run the bath water too hot or fall and always get help when they need it. In these challenging situations, it might be time to rethink your home’s design and make sure that both young ones and the old are safe, so you can relax a bit more.
Plug Sockets
You can get plug protectors that will help you avoid accidents both with kids and older individuals. Limit their access to high-risk electrical devices that can cause accidents, such as irons and portable heaters, without supervision.
We once found out that my grandfather was drying wet clothes on top of the small heater that he uses in the bathroom. It was a fire waiting to happen!
Safety Rails
To help your elderly family members get around your home without help, you can install permanent or temporary safety rails in your house. Get one in the hallway and the entrance of the house.
Safety rails play an important role in fall prevention and can encourage independence. You will have more time to prepare meals or clean the house if you know that your family member is safe to walk around the house on their own. Having a cane or walker doesn’t hurt either.
Bathroom Mobility Aids
If your older family member occasionally stays overnight or lives with, you will need to make sure they are safe in the bathroom. You don’t want to supervise them all the time and invade their privacy.
Get bath and shower safety rails installed, and have a shower chair handy as well. Check on them regularly through the door, and install an alarm just in case.
Make Them Feel Comfortable
Don’t allow the kids to nag them all the time, or jump on them. This way, they can enjoy some free time, read, or watch their favorite TV program, or just take a nap. You don’t want to make them feel like they are in your way all the time and discourage them from coming out of their room.
Alert Buttons
If you regularly look after older people in your home, you need to get alert buttons installed around the house. You might be busy cooking or putting the kids to bed when they need help. An alert button can help you react to the situation as soon as possible.
Currently, we are trying out an iWatch App. I hope it works for this purpose!
When you are looking after older relatives in your home and kids at the same time, you must take into consideration everyone’s safety and comfort. Even your own, and what will make this transition easier for you as well.
2/6/18 The deck is done! Yes!! No more running after the puppy to get wood out of her mouth. I swear she is half beaver.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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