Tips for Helping Your Senior Feel Safe at Home Alone During the Day

Not all elderly adults need someone with them at all times. Many are able to handle personal care needs and other tasks throughout the day on their own, and benefit from some assistance for short periods each day, or a few times a week. Even if your aging parent has this level of independence, it doesn’t mean they always feel safe and secure when they are alone in their home. Especially if your senior has only recently begun to live alone, they may feel uneasy when by themselves. This is particularly true when they face situations such as someone coming to the door.

Senior Care Huntington Beach CA – Tips for Helping Your Senior Feel Safe at Home Alone During the Day

As their family caregiver, it is important to encourage your parent to feel safer and to take steps when they are alone at home to stay safe, feel secure, and reduce anxiety.

Use these tips to help your senior feel safe at home alone during the day:

• Install a security camera with video and two-way audio at their front door. This allows your parent to check who is at the door and even interact with them from the safety of their computer or mobile device without opening the door.
• Encourage your senior to keep their doors locked even when they are at home.
• Reassure your parent that it’s not only acceptable not to answer the door when someone they don’t know comes to it, but that is the safe thing to do. If someone comes to the door, they should either consult their camera feed, or call through the door to find out who the person is. They should not open the door, even with a chain lock on it.
• Make it clear to your parent that if they feel at all uncomfortable or threatened, such as if someone comes to the door and will not leave, or they see someone near their home, they should not hesitate to call for help.
• Make sure your senior has a mobile device they can carry with them or a landline phone in several areas of the home so they can easily make contact with others.
• Consider a personal emergency device your parent can wear even when they are at home. This way they can call for help if they fall or experience another emergency.
• Encourage your parent not to answer the phone if they are alone, and make it clear to them that if they are uncomfortable with a phone call, or unsure of it, they should hang up.

Nobody knows your senior like you do, which means you are the one who is best suited to making the decisions that are right for them regarding their care as they age in place. As their family caregiver, you are likely prepared to take on the tasks of caring for your senior, but this should not leave you feeling as though you have to do everything by yourself.

Relying on a senior care provider to handle some of your parents care tasks can be beneficial to both of you. For your senior, having a senior home care services provider with them means access to services that allow them to be more independent and autonomous, such as transportation and help with errands, to stay safer, such as providing mobility support, and to keep them healthier, such as assisting with meal preparation and encouraging medication compliance with reminders.

Senior home care is a fantastic resource for you as well. When you rely on a care provider, you are taking pressure off of yourself while still making sure your senior is properly cared for, and living at the life you know they deserve.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Care Services in Huntington Beach CA, please contact the caring staff at 1Heart Care Services today.