3 Tips To Help Convince Your Parents To Use Home Mobility Aids

No one wants to admit that they cannot do the same things that they used to do. For many elderly adults, the presences of home mobility aids feels like they are admitting defeat, that they are admitting that they can't do what they used to do. Here are three tips to use to help your parents embrace the idea of home mobility aids. 

#1 Help Them See How This Will Make Them More Independent

Your parents may be so stuck on the idea that a mobility aid will hinder their independence that they don't realize that their health is already doing so. Your parents may be so used to their physical limitations, that they don't realize how mobility aids could assist them.

Hang out with your parents and make observations about how a mobility aid would help them. Make sure that your observations are positively worded and do not cast judgment on your parents for not taking this step sooner; the idea is to get them on board. 

For example, if you notice that your mother has to slowly pull herself up from her chair in the living room, you can gently say something like, "A cane would give you the support and balance you need to get out of your chair more easily. It could make you easier to get out of your seat when you are in public places as well." 

#2 Allow Them To Test Out Some Mobility Aids

Often times, your parents are apprehensive about using mobility aids because they don't know how they actually work. Try to see if you can get some of this equipment and allow your parents to test it out. 

For example, you may be able to rent a cane or walker from a local hospital for your parents to try out for a few days. This will allow them to see how these types of mobility aids would assist them in their day to day lives before they make a financial commitment to one. 

If your parents are in need of a larger mobility aid, such as a chair lift, you may be able to take your parents to an assisted living community or senior center that has a chair lift. This will allow your parents to test out these higher investment mobility aids to see how they work and how they function. 

#3 Get Them Involved In The Buying Process

Finally, if your parents are getting on board with the idea after you gently point out how mobility aids will enhance their life and allow them to test out these items, make sure that you involve them in the buying process. Present your parents with multiple choices and allow your parents to pick out the exact make and model.

Allow your parents to personalize their choices as well so they feel more ownership over it. Perhaps you can purchase pink tennis balls for the bottom of your mom's walker, or you purchase a can with a custom carved wood design for your dad. Allow your parents to see that their personalities can still shine through while using a mobility aid. 

To learn more about mobility aids, visit a website like http://www.twincitystairlifts.com


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