What could be more exciting than planning a family vacation? If some of your loved ones require senior care, however, you may think they need to stay behind. Fortunately, that’s not the case at all.
Seniors who require care can still have fun vacations with their families. It just takes a little bit more planning. Here are some tips for including your senior loved ones in your vacation plans.
Choose Senior-Friendly Destinations
The younger members of the family may be interested in adventurous vacations, like going wilderness camping. Or, they may want to go on a walking-intensive trip. Some destinations aren’t ideal for seniors who need care. Make sure to take your loved ones’ capabilities into account as you’re choosing destinations.
Since Canada’s senior population is growing, there’s plenty of demand for senior-friendly vacations. That means you and your family have a lot of options. One such option is to choose a cruise. Cruises are popular with seniors, and for good reasons. On cruises, seniors can choose to do as much or as little as they want. The ships are designed to accommodate people with moderate disabilities. For example, they have wheelchair-accessible rooms and safety features like grab bars. You could ask for adjoining rooms so you can easily look after your loved ones while still maintaining privacy.
Package tours are another good option for seniors. Many tour operators specialize in accessible tours, so even seniors needing care can participate. You could decide to book a tour of a city or a national park. These tours can even take you on accessible safaris or scuba dives.
Go on Day Trips
If you’re struggling to see how you can accommodate your loved one on a major trip—or perhaps they just aren’t interested in the idea—you could go on fun day trips. Day trips are a good option for people needing senior care because they don’t need to be away from home for long. They can go and have fun with their families, then be back in their own beds at night.
There are many exciting places you could take your senior loved ones for the day. For example, you could go to a museum, festival, or beach. You could also visit natural wonders, like Niagara Falls. Since these trips are so short, you could take your loved ones on plenty of fun adventures while the weather’s great.
Request Special Services
Wherever you decide to go this summer, request the special services your loved ones need. Many destinations are used to accommodating seniors needing care and people with disabilities. They have special services available, and you just need to ask for them. For example, you could ask the destination to provide wheelchairs for your senior loved ones. You could also ask for an accessible room or accessible seating.
It’s best to ask for special services when you’re planning your trip, instead of waiting until you’ve arrived. If you don’t ask until you’ve arrived, the destinations may not be able to accommodate you.
Share Caregiving Responsibilities
Caregiving is rewarding, but it takes a lot of energy and devotion. It’s not fair for you to be responsible for all caregiving responsibilities during your vacations. You need time to relax, too. Consider sharing caregiving responsibilities with others.
For example, you could split your senior care duties with another family member. Your senior loved ones will be looked after, but you’ll get some time to yourself. Another option is to hire a professional caregiver to help look after your loved ones. If you’re interested in this, have a conversation about senior home care with your loved ones.
