How To Make Sure Your Grandparents Are Taken Care Of

Everyone loves their grandparents. Even if you weren't close with them as you grew up, you can still benefit from their knowledge — whether it's things they've gone through or family members you've never even heard about. You want to ensure they're well taken care of, both when you're around and when you can't be there. Try to stay in their lives, so you know how best to care for them and how they want to be cared for.

1. Visit Often 

Your grandparents love to see you. They want to spend time with you and hear about your accomplishments. Simply talking with them about your daily activities can delight them. Also, having someone else there can help them fend off loneliness if they live alone. Your time with your grandparents is valuable. You'll never get that time back once you lose it, so it's best to spend as much time with them as you can. Plus, it's fun to talk to them — you might learn things you never knew.

2. Call When You Can't Visit 

If you're going to miss a regular visit with your grandparents, let them know. What may seem like an easy appointment to make up to you could be a whole day's plan for your grandparents. Make sure they know in advance so they can plan around your absence and reschedule your visit. 

Alternatively, you can spend time with them on the phone. If they use hearing aids, be sure to speak loud and clearly. A phone visit can be just as impactful as an in-person visit. Make sure that you're filling your conversation with topics. If you have a more casual relationship with your grandparents, you may find it easier to chat with them on social media occasionally. Still, an instant message can't replace the sound of your voice or the sight of your face.

3. Attend Their Appointments 

Your grandparents may need someone to attend their medical appointments with them. They may not know the right questions to ask or might not understand why they are treated a certain way. Besides, there is plenty of age-related discrimination in the healthcare field, so having you there as an advocate for them may help your grandparents feel more at ease. This way, you can also ensure that they get the medical care and treatment they deserve, whether healthy or sick.

4. Give Them a Community 

You may not always be able to visit your grandparents. Hopefully, you're not the only one visiting them, but they still might feel bored without going into the world and meeting new people. Getting them involved in a community of people their age can help them feel supported and understood, especially when they live alone. Having family visit is one thing, but your grandparents should have friends their own age whom they would have more in common with.

5. Help Them Stay Clean 

Older folks don't have the same mobility they did as when they were younger. As such, they may find it challenging to keep their house as clean as they used to. You shouldn't allow them to sit in squalor. Offer to help them clean their house since you can reach areas they no longer can. If you don't have time to help them clean, consider talking them through the idea of hiring a routine cleaning service — and help them pay for it if they need it. 

Going through the clutter is another chore entirely. Some senior citizens tend to hoard papers and other clutter that they don't need. You can help them go through their old things. It's easy to sort paper clutter by asking them what they want to keep. If they have plenty of papers they want to save, consider laminating newspaper clippings for them to use as bookmarks or maybe putting all of them in an album your grandparents can look back on.

6. Eliminate Dangers 

When your grandparents live alone and aren't as nimble as they used to be, they might run into many dangers that could leave them injured. Do a sweep of their house and look for unsecured items — such as loose rugs or electrical cords lying about — and try to remedy the situation. By eliminating dangers, you increase the odds of your grandparents staying safe even when you're not around.

7. Listen to Them 

Sometimes, all your grandparents want is someone to listen to them. They are full of rich stories from times you never knew and advice you can take to live a more fulfilled life. Your grandparents are your lifeline to learning more about your family's history — which could have a tremendous cultural significance on your life. They may have tales about your parents when they were younger, too. Either way, you have a trove of knowledge at your hands. All you need to do is listen.

Spend Time With Your Grandparents 

It might be challenging to find time in your busy life for them, but you should actively try to make time to spend with your grandparents. They have slower days, so it could benefit you just as much as them to slow down and take time to socialize. You never know what you could find out by spending time with your grandparents. Take care of them when you're able, and do things so that you know they're safe when you're not around. Then, you can happily look forward to your next meeting.