If you’ve already read our guides on power of attorney and guardianship, there’s one more legal document worth understanding before a health crisis forces the issue: the advance directive. It’s arguably the most important one of the three, because it’s the one that speaks directly to what your parent actually wants medically, not just who…
Vision problems and falls tend to get treated as two separate concerns in caregiving conversations: one belongs to the eye doctor, the other belongs to fall-proofing the house. In reality, they’re much more connected than most families realize. According to research published in JAMA Ophthalmology, older adults with cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, or glaucoma have…
Poor sleep gets dismissed pretty easily as just a normal, minor part of aging: something to shrug off rather than address. That’s worth reconsidering. According to the National Institute on Aging, sleep does change naturally with age, but poor sleep itself isn’t something your parent just has to accept, and the health consequences of ongoing…
Hearing loss is one of the most common health changes that comes with age, and also one of the easiest for families to write off as a minor annoyance rather than something worth actively addressing. That’s a mistake worth correcting: hearing loss affects far more than conversation, and there’s growing evidence it’s connected to cognitive…
Once the conversation about giving up driving actually happens (the one covered in our other guide) a new practical question follows immediately: how does your parent still get to appointments, the grocery store, church, or a friend’s house without feeling completely dependent on family members’ schedules? This is worth researching before driving stops, not after,…
If you’ve already read our guide on getting power of attorney for an aging parent, you may have also come across the term “guardianship” and wondered whether it’s the same thing, a backup plan, or something else entirely. It’s a meaningful and often confusing distinction, and understanding it now (before a crisis forces the question)…
Incontinence is one of the most common issues families face while caring for an aging parent, and also one of the least discussed openly: often because it feels embarrassing on both sides of the conversation. It’s worth pushing past that discomfort, because according to the National Institute on Aging, incontinence is frequently treatable or manageable,…
About 28% of Americans 65 and older who live in the community live alone, according to the federal Administration for Community Living. Living alone doesn’t automatically mean someone is lonely or isolated, but for a lot of families, it’s the backdrop against which isolation quietly develops, especially after a spouse passes away, driving stops, or…
If you’ve ever felt guilty for losing patience with your parent, for wanting an evening to yourself, for placing them in assisted living, or even just for not doing “enough” no matter how much you’re already doing: you’re experiencing one of the most common and least talked-about parts of caregiving. It deserves to be named…
This is one of those topics that’s easy to underestimate until it happens to someone you know, and the numbers make clear it’s happening far more, and for far more money, than most families realize. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s most recent report to Congress, fraud losses reported by older adults quadrupled in just…
