How to Care for Seniors with Love

In their old age, the one thing seniors crave for most is love and caring company for their emotional wellbeing. Loneliness and isolation can be devastating to their emotional and mental wellbeing despite the generous provision of material comforts. 

It is important that you make your elderly loved ones feel valued, loved, and cared for through constant presence in their lives besides material support. Here are a few tips to help you show more love to the seniors.

Maintain a consistent presence

You probably are the only family the senior has and your company and love are very important for their emotional wellbeing. Whereas it is equally important to supply them with material needs, your engagement is more valuable. 

Let your visits and time spend with them not appear as if done out of duty but rather love as you build a strong emotional bond.

 If you live at a distance from each other, install a SpyFone app on their phone with a panic button that they can raise you with, in case of an emergency. 

The app also comes with GPS and lost phone locator if something happens to them or their phone while away from home. Alternatively, you may consider setting up an accessory apartment or granny flat cabin to have the senior always close to you.

Help them stay active

Staying active is both good for physical and mental health and they will love it if they share their active moments with you. Offer to drive them around to visit their friends, to the mall, to the restaurant for dining out, or simply to the park to enjoy the scenery. 

Of course, you can hire a driver, or have provisions delivered but that is impersonal and does not project the love they need so much. 

Your physical presence is all the more important for emotional support if the senior has lost the spouse. Your company will help the void left in their lives and keep them from sliding into depression from isolation.

Handle their finances and paperwork

One way to demonstrate loving care to the elderly is by showing concern for their finances, especially when they have limited resources. Offer to help with the structuring of whatever income they have to support their recurrent budget. 

Knowing that they have someone trusted taking care of their finances is a boost to their peace of mind and helps them enjoy their old age. There will be important paperwork that needs taking care of to ensure legal compliance. This could include property titles and that most sensitive of them all, the will. 

Have a candid discussion with the elderly and offer to assist them wherever necessary to keep all paperwork compliant. If the situation demands, you may have to exercise the power of attorney on their behalf. 

Help around the house

Dropping in at their place frequently to help with dishes, laundry, and general cleaning even when they do these chores themselves shows them you care. 

Even when they resist, offer to do the chores with them instead with the main goal being to keep them company. Sharing household chores, repairs, and cleaning helps in bonding.

While engaged in these chores, be a good listener lending them your ear in appreciation for what they are sharing. That you can spare a moment to listen to their concerns is good for their emotional wellbeing and makes them feel valued. Impress upon them their value to you and why you need to be with them at all times so that they feel you both mutually need each other.

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