Seniors
How To Talk With Your Aging Parents About Using A Walker
By
Apr 10, 2017 - 1:34:26 PM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Caring for an aging parent can be a great challenge. And as our beloved seniors age, their primary caregivers, commonly their children, need to initiate many difficult conversations. Whether it’s suggesting the use of a hearing aid or simply talking about any other assistive device that has to do with getting older, starting these conversations isn’t easy.

One of the toughest conversations may be to convince your parent to use a mobility aid. Over time, it may become increasingly obvious that Mom or Dad is having more trouble walking without assistance. For so many older adults, the very thought of relying on a walker to get around is unappealing. While this may be emotionally difficult to accept, it’s going to require some getting used to.

Suggesting the use of a walker can often be met with a parent’s stubborn refusal. Now is the time to have the conversation about love, continued safety and well-being. It’s important to use this conversation time to express empathy and understanding and to focus on the positives. The right walker or rollator will offer your aging parents greater independence, comfort and possibly even keep them active, self-sufficient and better connected to the family and their friends.

To start this dialogue, consider these tips:

1. Remind Mom or Dad that the right walker is a tool to maintain and, in most cases, increase their mobility. Emphasize the resulting increase in independence and how that will make them feel.

2. Empower their individuality and give them a choice. Today’s walkers are far more functional and models like the Motivo Tour offer a contemporary design with styling that can’t be ignored.

3. Stress the importance of being smart: Using a walker will prevent falls and resulting injuries. The facts are on your side and fall-related injuries may actually come with a discharge recommendation to a nursing home rather than Mom’s return home.

A conversation like this is a two-way street, so if you’re able to address their reluctance, then your parents will also need to embrace their own physical limitation. It’s important that you don’t make an absolute demand that they use a walker, so partner up and search for options together. Mom might feel better if she’s able to see a less institutional-looking option, and a rollator like the Motivo Tour, with its risk-free 30-day trial, is a smart way to give a new walker a try.

Learn More

For further facts and to see the walkers in action, go towww.motivolife.com.

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