The kitchen is often called the heart of the home. It’s the place where love is poured out of the heart and into the food we eat. For many, it’s the place they connect with their family and how they care for themselves. If your loved one enjoys the kitchen and cooking but just needs a bit of help following a recipe or dicing up vegetables, a home care assistance provider can help.
When Kitchens Go From Safe to Dangerous for Seniors
As your loved one has aged, she might be at a place where the kitchen is not a haven anymore. There may be physical and cognitive limitations that make you nervous about her using her kitchen by herself. Tasks that used to be easy to complete may be difficult if not impossible. You might worry about her injuring herself if she tries to tackle those chores that she can no longer do.
The good news is that the kitchen doesn’t need to become a forbidden and/or frustrating place for your elderly loved one. You can help her use her kitchen safely and easily by creating some changes to make it more accessible to her and her current abilities.
Five Top Tips for Making a Kitchen More Accessible for Your Elderly Loved One
Replace hard-to-use utensils. If your loved one has arthritis or other health issues that prevent her from gripping and using items such as can openers, sharp knives, or scissors, search the internet for products that help make these everyday tasks easier for her. You might need to test out a few to find the ones that work for her but it’ll go a long toward helping her feel like she can still use the kitchen and be independent in her home.
Increase lighting. Bad lighting in the kitchen can lead to injury if your loved one cannot see what she is doing while she’s chopping up vegetables or grabbing a pan. Make sure all corners of the kitchen have adequate light for the task that’s performed there. You might find adding lighting under cabinets can help your loved one see the countertops better for food preparation.
Add in safety features. Make sure there are fire extinguishers in the kitchen and then double-check to make sure they are easily used by your loved one. She needs to know where it is, how to use it, and be able to lift it if the time arises. If you are worried about kitchen appliances being left on when she’s finished in the kitchen, many stoves can now be purchased with burners that turn off after a time or the oven turns off.
Put items within reach. Your loved one shouldn’t have to climb up on a step stool every time she needs a pot and she also shouldn’t have to bend over and reach deep into a back cabinet to find her favorite waffle iron. Find new homes for items she uses frequently that are within easy reach to prevent falls and pulled muscles.
Hire a home care assistance team. A home care assistance provider can complete the steps she can no longer perform or they can show her new ways of making her favorite meal. Your senior may love having a home care assistance provider as her new partner in the kitchen so she can still enjoy her favorite room in the house.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Home Care Assistance Services in Monroe Township NJ please get in touch with the caring staff at Expert Home Care today at (732) 937-5320.
Providing exceptional live-in home care in New Jersey, including Monroe Township, Edison, New Brunswick, Red Bank, Lakewood, Princeton, Morristown, Flemington, Stockton, Bridgewater, Hillsborough, Montclair, Livingston, Summit, and surrounding communities.
We have been providing Home Health Care to New Jersey families since 1985, and have grown to become one of the largest licensed providers of Live-In Home Care in the upper New Jersey area. Our many years of New Jersey home care experience has produced a company that over 8,000 clients have come to rely on confidently, for help.
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