It’s not easy getting older. With it can come decreased mobility, less dexterity, and perhaps even pain from doing the things that were so simple just a few years ago. When difficulty with everyday tasks threatens elderly independence, there may just be the perfect solution – in a gadget.
For those of advanced years living alone and loving it, or patients in the process of post-surgery recovery regaining their health and dexterity, these things might be the difference between staying in your own home and having to move to an assisted care facility.
Read on to find some of the best affordable gadgets, gifts and other things for the elderly living at home or those recovering from an injury. Whether you are aging and looking for some aids to daily living, or you’re caring for aging loved ones in their home and want to help them remain independent, here is our list of great gadgets and other things to make life easier. (They also make great gifts!)
For birthday or holiday gift giving, why not give the gift of tech to help the seniors in your life live a little easier? Whether you are thinking of their safety or their comfort, we have singled out some of the best tech gadgets they’ll love. Read on to find the best tech gifts for seniors.
1. Seniors will feel safer with a Ring video doorbell
Price $179
The Ring is a great tool for those seniors who have limited mobility, live alone, or simply want to screen their front door visitors much like we do on our phone calls these days. Feel safe and secure in your home with a way to determine if you want to answer the door or not once you know who is there. Also, it is very common for thieves to check to see if anyone is home by first ringing your doorbell. Even if you’re not at home, you can “answer” the doorbell via your smartphone and fool them away.
One of the best gifts you can give a person living with a disability is to give them a safe, accessible, and comfortable living space. Home is the one place where they can reasonably expect to have their special needs catered to, and so should they.
However, there is a lot of work that goes into remodeling a home for disabled living to make it comfortable and accessible. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Fair Housing Act sets out some standards for accessibility, but you will have to go beyond the basics to create the safe and comfortable living space you want for your loved one.
Often, caregivers and the people closest to the disabled person are best able to discern what the most pressing needs are in terms of making your home comfortable for them. However, experts in remodeling will also have some good ideas on what you need to do. Here are some of the considerations Gilad Baron, the owner of a home remodeling company in San Jose, Ca., suggested you might want to keep in mind.
The current generation of seniors who are 65 years or older grew up knowing that marijuana is the “devil’s drug.” So, it is surprising that seniors form the fastest-growing segment of cannabis adopters in the past few years.
Of the seniors who are currently adopting marijuana for medicinal use, about 75% of them had never tried it before. This open-mindedness and willingness to try new remedies is driven by the massive pro-cannabis information campaigns that are going on. Most importantly, these seniors are attracted by the potential health benefits of medical marijuana.
However, seniors should not rush to replace their pain killers with CBD unless they have enough information about cannabis and its health effects.
Many seniors are not done working. Either they need to or they just want to. But whatever the case, many are opting for telecommuting or work-from-home freelance opportunities. This gives retirees the benefits of part-time or full-time employment while preserving the freedom to “do their own thing” through flexibility in scheduling, and if you’re an employer, you’re in luck because of the benefits seniors bring to those lucky companies who hire them.
But where does a senior go to find work when ageism is so prevalent? There are lots of opportunities for you and we’ve done the homework to bring them altogether and make your job search easier.
Retirees don’t always completely retire. Many return to work after reaching retirement age, and they do it for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons for seniors remaining in or rejoining the workforce include a desire to stay busy and keep active, a lack of savings and a desire for extra income.
But unfortunately, we live in the age of “-isms.” One of the “-isms” that is frequently overlooked is ageism. This is discrimination or prejudice based on a person’s age. Just look at the following chart and it shouldn’t be hard to see that ageism just might be behind the hiring in those listed tech companies.
We all know of people who had a falling out within their family over an inheritance. It is not only those with vast wealth who risk this. Sometimes families will fight over the simplest of bequests, especially one-of-a-kind family heirlooms. For this reason, it’s vital that we make plans for these bequests before our health declines so that our family will stay intact after we are gone.
This benefits our heirs financially as well as emotionally. They keep their relationships with siblings and children intact while they avoid costly legal battles. A few simple steps on your part on just how to divide your heirlooms will go a long way toward protecting those you hold most dear.
Teapot or Tesla?
Before you can plan your bequests, you need to know what people want. If you are a sharing family, then it may be easy. If not, this may be a major hurdle you will need to overcome so that your heirs don’t fight among themselves after you’re gone.
If you know your family members well, you’ll know who are the sentimental ones – those who would choose a chipped teapot that belonged to a great-great-grandmother over something of monetary value. You’ll also know the ones who are adding up each item’s dollar value and can tell you which items are worth what down to the penny.
Living life to the full includes having freedom of movement. Even for those who may be less mobile, moving from one room to another or out the front door adds to our enjoyment of each and every day. Read on for some easy-to-institute ways to increase mobility, decrease the risk of falls and injury, and get on with life.
Balancing act
As we get older or after surgery or illness, we can face balance issues. It’s a scary feeling to be unsure of our footing and this can increase anxiety as we do the simplest of tasks – getting out of bed, completing essential self-care, even daily tasks like cooking a meal. To combat this, it’s essential to put safeguards in place around our home.
Lighting
One of the key ways to keep on our feet is to be able to see obstacles in our way. It’s not just at night that we may need extra illumination. Installing motion sensing lights along the floor in hallways and entryways means you never have to fumble for a light switch in the dark. This is vital for stairs as well, to ensure you can see where your foot will land before you take the next step.
Make sure you add lights to outdoor stairs and walkways too. These can be motion sensor or light sensor, but you want to make sure they are automatic so you never get caught unexpectedly away from the light switch in the dark.
For your table lamps, you’ll want them on a wall switch, or to at least have easy-turn knobs, so that when you stage the house for the evening, everything is well-lit and cheerful. Not only will your mood brighten, but you will avoid falls due to shadowy areas.
The state of Colorado is rife with beautiful landscapes that vary from arid desert to lush river canyons. Within the canyons and mountains, you can still visit ancient Pueblo cities and learn about their culture. While Colorado is a great place to travel for those who love the outdoors, seniors may feel that visiting the state isn’t for them. That is definitely not true. Within Colorado, there are plenty of places to visit and explore even for seniors who require home medical equipment or wheelchairs. If you’re itching to take a vacation, consider these three Colorado vacation destinations.
Caring for senior or other ambulatory patients at home does not come without risk. In addition to them not being able to care for their own weight, those caring for the elderly and infirm may not have the strength to do so themselves without the aid of tools and techniques.
To help our clients who are faced with the task of helping others stay in their homes and get the most out of their lives, we’ve collected some helpful videos from the internet, and will be adding more as we find them. Have some of your own you want to share? Be sure to leave links to them in our comments box below.
