5 Tips To Care For The Senior In Your Life

5 Tips to Care for the Senior in Your Life

Growing old can be difficult. Most people acknowledge that, whether they personally know someone who is considered a “senior citizen” or not. Seniors are generally considered people over 65, although the definition varies broadly depending upon health and independence levels. Some seniors can live completely on their own, while others may need assisted living or other forms of care. Whether it’s a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend, mentor or anyone else, you feel close to this person and want to help them as much as possible while maintaining their autonomy.

If you have a senior citizen that you care about in your life, it’s important to know how to care for them as they grow older. Here are a few tips that you can use to guide you through the process:

1. Treat your senior loved one with respect.

Seniors have decades of life experience that they are ready and willing to share with you (much more than you have yourself, most likely). Respect that they are individual people with their own stories, and avoid patronizing or coddling them.

2. Remain cognizant of their real limits.

Just because someone is a senior citizen you should not assume that they are ill, disabled or otherwise unable to care for themselves. In fact, many senior citizens remain in perfectly good health, or at least enough to live autonomously and maintain normal relationships.

Do recognize that seniors face many challenges that younger people do not. For example, they may not be able to be as active as you would like them to be, a limitation that results from the natural aging process as well as age-related illnesses. This can be especially difficult to deal with if you have developed a relationship with this person that revolves around some sort of physical activity, such as running together or lifting weights. Try not to be discouraged if they are not able to do as much as before. Look for other activities you can do together – such as taking walks or bird-watching, for example.

3. Make it a priority to stay connected.

One of the most important things you can do to care for a senior citizen is to talk to them. Tell them about your life, and don’t let yourself become distant. They want to hear from you and stay in touch.

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