Aging In Place: Accommodating Aging Parents

As our parents age we become the caregivers to them. With this new title we have certain responsibilities one of them being to help them in their quest to age in place. This requires us to go through their homes and to assess their needs. These needs will change as their health needs transform and it is our duty to help assist the remodels that are needed. Any home can be converted to meet the needs of aging adults. A remodel of this magnitude needs to be planned for and executed on a need basis. If your parents are able to age in place without the need of a wheelchair ramp then why would you expense this?

What accommodations can you look for as your parents continue to live in their own home to make sure their needs are met? What each aging in place remodeling job consist of will be dependent upon the mobility and needs of those it needs to provide for. Below is a list of remodeling suggestions that might come in to play as you plan for and begin your parent's age in place remodel.

1) Doorways should be able to accommodate items such as walkers, wheelchairs, canes and scooters. Doorways should be widened to at least thirty six inches, the average size of a wheelchair. The doorway floor space should be clear for at least four feet on either side for maneuverability. Doors should also have handles that make for easy entrance and exit. This allows for them to grasp on to the handle without having to apply pressure and turn it.

2) The house should be all on one floor for aging parents. Ranch style homes are more convenient for aging seniors. Then there is no need to worry about parents using the stairs if there aren't any. If stairs in their home is unavoidable look into stair chair lifts. This allows them to glide up the stairs with the use of a chair tat glides up and down the stairs.

3) All carpet should be redone with either hardwood or carpet with a short pile. This will allow for ease of mobility for wheelchairs, walkers and canes. Also eliminate thresholds leading in and out of all rooms. Many older people will tend to shuffle their feet and getting rid of thresholds eliminates the threat of tripping.

4) Bathrooms should either consist of a walk-in tub or a shower that does not contain a threshold. It is also important to add extra support so that hand rails can be used and braced properly. The bathroom should be ample in size to accommodate a walker or wheelchair. Facets should be considered for their ease of use and the water temperature should be adjusted to prevent scalding.

5) Kitchens have separate aging in place issues all together. Think about adding timers that are wired throughout the house for when the stove is on. Allow the stove to only be on for a certain allotted time before the timer buzzes. This will ensure that the stove does not get left on. If your parent is having a hard time getting around the kitchen area and providing meals hire someone to come in and cook and freeze meals that can be easily stored in the freezer and heated in a microwave. Another option is services such as meals on wheels which offer warm meals delivered to seniors in need.

6) Make sure closet accessories are lowered so that clothes can be easily accessed. Drawers should be on gliders with stops so that drawers are never accidentally pulled out on to someone.

As always are main concern is for our loved ones. We take their care personally and only want the best for them. Most aging in place seniors are set against moving into assisted living facilities until they absolutely cannot survive on their own any longer and even then are often resistant. These changes should be done gradually as this will help the senior in your life to adjust to the aging process and to their newly acquired special circumstances.

If you have enjoyed this article on aging in place remodeling from Kevin Germain at CPS visit our website http://www.glenmillerthehomedoctor.com/aging_in_place_remodeling.php today where you will find useful information on aging in place.

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How Confident Kids Can Raise Confident Adults

We all want children who believe they can do anything. Right? Youth is the time for dreams, a time to explore what the possibilities are, and they are endless! Kids haven't been deprogrammed like adults, so it's a perfect opportunity to watch and learn. Below I offer a four steps on "How Confident Kids Can Raise Confident Adults".

I like to think of myself as a confident person. I also like to challenge myself and grow: physically, mentally, and spiritually. Where do I find the motivation? In the following steps I can give you a few examples of how a 5 year old, a 2 year old, and a 1 year old have raised a more confident parent.

Step 1: Never think or say anything you don't want to come true, instead vocalize what you want to be true. As simple as this sounds, we often times do just the opposite. With news, the Internet, the media, etc. we find thousands of reasons to focus on what we are not or what we do not have. The middle of my confident kids taught me this while learning to swim. From day one, she knew she could swim! From day one, I would take off her safety vest and she would sink like a rock. She still tells herself she can swim, when I watch her, she sinks more slowly now. As long as she believes she can swim, who am I to tell her differently? She'll make it happen. No matter how deep you sink, if you tell yourself daily that you can make it to the top. One day you'll wake up and that's where you will be!

Step 2: Let fear be a motivator. Turn the channel on the critic in your head, as soon as you think you can't, do just the opposite. Until last year I had never been on a snowboard and skis only once. Until last year, my 5 year old had never been on either. So we went to the mountain together. After 45 minutes of solo lessons, she was ready to take the lift to the main slope. I had already talked myself into the bunny hill for the day. You know, I was doing it for her benefit. I helped justify my fear. She said she was nervous, but ready. Well that was motivation enough for me. We hit the slopes, collectively fell about 15 times by the time we reached the bottom. Then got back in line for the lift to the top, no longer fear, just fun! Recognize when you're letting fear take you out, use that as motivation to conquer it!

Step 3: Move with purpose. The only time I see people move with purpose anymore is when they are trying to make their connecting flight, darting from one terminal to the next with complete focus. You can even see it in their eyes, complete focus on the task at hand. How often do we move with purpose towards our goals? The youngest of my confident kids just learned to walk. She didn't do so with her head down, eyes to the ground, shoulders hunched, and slow steps. She took one step, then another, smile on her face, focused on where she was going. Find what your purpose is move toward it with clarity, head up, shoulders back, focus, and with confident steps. People will notice when you move with purpose.

Step 4: CELEBRATE! Give yourself credit for your success! This I learned myself by watching how we celebrate as a family. The first day of school, potty training, first words, trying new foods. You name it we celebrate it as a family. Yet, I noticed when I had personal accomplishments, won awards, made my first dollar with my business, my wife started her business, it was "Good job!" now onto the next goal. Recognize your accomplishments, no matter how small. Did you order coffee drink with clarity, and it tastes great?! Then confetti should be shooting out your ears! You don't know what small success will contribute to your overall gigantic successes, so get in the habit of celebrating, dance, cheer, and at the very least make the party so great in your head you can imagine confetti bursting out your ears.

Confident kids can raise confident adults if we take the time to notice. Follow these easy steps to improve your confidence and your flight won't leave without you!

Nick Lubbers is one half of The Minivan Millionaires. He and his wife Melissa are experts at making the transition to entrepreneurship while maintaining family balance. Nick brings over 15 years of top level corporate sales and management success, generating over $40M in revenue in 5 years, to the world of online business. It's these experiences that Nick brings to other parents in building an online business from the ground up, while creating focused family time in the process. Having 3 daughters all under the age of 6, helps him find balance, health, and wealth. Join him at The Minivan Millionaires http://theminivanmillionaires.com/

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Conceiving At The End Of The Month: Does This Produce A Boy Or A Girl Baby?

I sometimes hear from couples who are trying to gauge the right time of the month to try to conceive a girl or a boy baby. For whatever reason, many seem to see "the end of the month" as an optimal time. I often hear comments like: "if I have sex and conceive at the end of the month, will I get a girl or a boy baby? What date is best?"

The thing is, many that are asking the question actually mean different things. Sometimes, what they mean is conceiving at the end of the calendar month. So an example would be that they would be trying to conceive on August 31st or at the end of or last week of August (or any other month you want to use to fill in the blank.)

Other times, people are talking about the end of the month of their fertility or menstrual cycle. So they might mean at the end of their menstrual period or at the end of their fertility period (or when they believe that they have ovulated.) So, let's go over these scenarios one by one.

Conceiving at a certain time during a calendar month doesn't by itself make you more likely to conceive either gender. The reason for this is that the date of the calendar month doesn't have anything to do with when you've ovulated, whether the X or Y sperm fertilizes your egg, and what you've been eating. All of these things are very important and come into play, while the date on the calendar generally is not important and does not come into play.

Ultimately, the determining factor of whether you get a boy or a girl comes down to whether an X (girl) or Y (boy) fertilizes your egg. And the boy or girl producing sperm don't come out in greater numbers at the end of the month (or any other time during the calendar month.) They are in a roughly 50 / 50 ratio no matter what the calendar says.

However, the end of your menstrual or fertility month is an entirely different matter. The end of your menstrual cycle generally does not indicate ovulation or the ability to get pregnant. Most women have at least a week or more after the end of their period before ovulation is even possible. (Every women is different of course so this is not an absolute, but it's true for most women.)

Now, if you conceive at the end of your fertility cycle (which means you have sex and conceive after you've ovulated and your egg is ready to be fertilized) that does make you slightly more likely to conceive a boy because this timing is more favorable to the faster boy (Y) sperm that don't live as long. The Y's do better when you conceive later in the cycle because they don't have to wait for the egg (which is good if you want a son but not so good if you want a daughter.)

I hope this answered your question about conceiving late in the month. It often doesn't matter all that much whether it's the last week or the first week on the calendar. Ovulation can happen on any day of the month depending on the woman involved. And ovulation (as well as the optimal PH) are really the most important variables in choosing your baby's gender, no matter what the calendar says.

If you're still even a little confused, I've put together a couple of sites that walks you through this step by step. If you want a girl baby, check out http://conceive-a-girl-baby.com/ If you want a boy baby, check out http://conceive-a-boy-baby.com/

Sandy Dean enjoys telling couples what they can try to choose their baby's gender at home.

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