How to Get Your Elderly Parents Through the COVID-19 Pandemic

Elderly Parents

Many people are asking “how to assist their elderly parents through COVID-19?” With people around the world practicing social distancing to help stop the spread of coronavirus, it also means you won’t be seeing much of people outside your household which is problematic if you have elderly parents that are at high risk. 

However, doing things such as enlarging the text or buying devices with larger buttons can make life easier for seniors and allow them to stay in touch with loved ones. Older people are more likely to be affected by social isolation which can have many negative health effects.

Ways of communication with elderly parents

Many of us are worried about our parents getting the virus or unknowingly giving it to them if we are asymptomatic which is why it’s important to practice social distancing. So what are the best tools for communicating with elderly parents?

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While video conferencing calls and FaceTime have been around for a while, it may not be as familiar to those who didn’t get brought up with technology. Older people may struggle with mobile phones and laptops as it might be difficult for them to hold devices or operate touch screen interfaces with as much ease as younger people.

Make it as easy as possible for them to contact you. If your parents are a little tech-savvy and have a smartphone with apps installed on it, then utilize them. Apps like Facebook Messenger, Skype, and WhatsApp all have audio and video calling ability and are easy to set up and explain.

If your parents own a computer or a tablet, invite them to a Zoom call or a Google Hangout. This is especially good if you have family spread out in different parts of the city or even overseas. Links can be emailed to join a conference call but if your parents are struggling a little to download Zoom, then perhaps look up a tutorial that explains it simply.

Buy a gadget to help them at home

There are many products available online that are designed specifically to make life easier for seniors. Many of them provide assistance for fall prevention, medication, and specialized poles to increase balance and mobility.

If you have a senior parent who lives alone and is unable to get help quickly if they had an accident, then consider buying them a personal alarm device. There are many different ones available and can be worn around the wrist or neck. They are activated when the button is pressed and an alert is sent to that company’s monitoring center.

If your elderly parent suffers from memory loss and you’re concerned that they may forget to take their medication, there are products that can be programmed to alert the person when it is time to take their medication. Have a look online to find a product that will assist your senior parents with their needs.

Getting supplies

It’s riskier for older adults to go out and do their grocery shopping as they are exposed to more people which increases the risk of coming into contact with someone who has the virus.  Luckily there are many online food delivery services so your parents can get the supplies they need.

Amazon is prioritising essential items like medical supplies and household goods to make sure they stay in stock and ship quickly. More stores are now offering home delivery and have an online store which might be another incentive to get your parents trained up on the computer. With restaurants closed due to lockdowns, UberEats has become an even more popular takeaway option.

However, if your parents aren’t able to order things online you can always order things for them so they don’t need to risk stepping out of the house.

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1 thought on “How to Get Your Elderly Parents Through the COVID-19 Pandemic”

  1. No matter how many times we have explained the danger of this situation with CoVid19, my husbands 87 year old parents continue to go out and about like there is no virus.

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How to Get Your Elderly Parents Through the COVID-19 Pandemic
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