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As a member of the Baby Boomers Generation caring for elderly parents, I’m always on the lookout for helpful tools that make life easier for my senior mom and often myself as well. Here’s a few of our favorites:
Backscratcher. Twenty years ago, we could only find these in Chinatown. Now it’s nice to be able to find them all over. Our favorite spot to check out is any Dollar Store. They’re definitely one of my favorite ways to save money. They usually have at least once choice available. Backscratchers are certainly great for scratching hard to reach spots. They’re also useful for reaching something that was dropped or moving an item closer when it is too high to easily reach. In addition, many have rollers on them, making them cheap and easy back massagers. Great for achy muscles. Amazon carries this Bamboo Back Scratcher and Massager
Water bottles. Even if your tap water tastes great, having a water bottle with a cap makes it easier to handle and less likely to spill. There are many refillable ones 
Grocery Stores That Deliver. A local grocery delivery service has been especially handy for me a few times. When my ankle was broken, I could order groceries from the Safeway grocery store and have them delivered to the house. My senior mom was still driving then, but it just made things easier for her to not have to go shopping at that particular time. I’ve also been able to use Albertsons grocery delivery service to help an elderly relative who lived in another state when she was ill. In both cases, I had coupons that saved me from any delivery charges. The option of grocery delivery service is not available everywhere, but when it is, it’s great!
Bells – These are useful when one of us is sick. We started using them with my elderly father when his Parkinson’s Disease symptoms kept him confined in bed. He could ring the bell to get our attention and we were able to hear it all over the house. We found ours at Pier One Imports, but many other stores also sell them. Amazon carries a Long Handle Call Bell
Cell Phone – Even better than a bell for our elderly parents can be one of the easy-to-use, large cell phones for seniors . Not all elderly parents can handle these, but if yours can, we personally consider the Jitterbug to be one of the best, if not the best, cell phones for senior citizens. It’s a very simple, basic cell phone that is ultra-easy for our beloved seniors to use. As they put it,
All of these are great tools for members of the Sandwich Generation and Baby Boomers Generation caring for elderly parents!
P.S. They also make good practical gifts for grandparents, not to mention the other elderly relatives in our lives. 🙂
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It is important to have the best tools to make a senior’s life easier. I find that shoes with velcro are an essential, as well as elastic-top pants for the elderly. To find adaptive clothing stores in your area visit: http://www.gericarefinder.com/products_services/home_medical_supplies_&_eqpt/adaptive_clothing/
from there you can search using your zip code.
http://www.GeriCareFinder.com also offers an array of products and services that help with senior living.
Hi Ron, Thanks for the great tips. I used to buy shoes with velcro and loved them. My current shoes are the most comfortable for me but don’t come with velcro. I have used curly shoelaces at times to help as well. 🙂
I thought I was the only one adult who used those curly laces. My shoes are ALWAYS coming untied!
Great tips as always, Kaye!
I LOVE those curly laces as long as they are long enough. They’re especially handy when flying as you can slip the tennis shoes off and on easily. 🙂 And they never come untied. My last pair of shoes never came untied but my newer ones are starting to come untied so I’ll probably be adding them to this set. 🙂