Your senior might not always be as cooperative as you’d like her to be about her health. If her health is affecting her ability to drive, though, you might finally have the leverage you need to get her to listen.

Her Eyes and Her Hearing Are Vital

Your senior might not see a reason to keep up with her hearing and her vision until you remind her that both are key to be a safe driver. That can inspire her to make sure that she gets regular testing done for both senses. You might make a deal with her that going to her eye doctor and having her regular doctor check her hearing are requirements for her to keep her keys and her license.

Monitoring Chronic Health Issues Keeps Her Ready to Drive
So many chronic health conditions that plague the elderly can create unsafe driving situations. Trouble with blood pressure or blood sugar can create situations in which your senior can’t think well enough to make the decisions that she needs to make behind the wheel. If she’s willing to keep up with those health issues, though, that can help her to remain a driver for a much longer period of time.

Exercise Keeps Her Strong and Flexible
Exercise is something your senior might have been avoiding. But if you point out how rebuilding lost muscle tone and improving her flexibility directly relate to driving, you might have her attention. There’s a lot to be said for being able to physically handle the demands of driving. Double check that your senior is safe to exercise by talking it out with her doctor and then put a plan in motion.

She May Still Need to Let Others Drive
Even if your senior is willing to do all of the above, she may still have issues that keep her from being able to drive safely. It’s a good idea to periodically review whether anything has changed and determine if she’s still safe to drive. Make sure to offer an alternative, such as hiring elderly care providers to do the driving for your senior. If you’ve done all you can do to keep her behind the wheel, she may accept being a passenger a little more readily.

You might feel odd using bribery on your senior at first. But what’s really important is that she’s paying attention to her health and that she’s safe behind the wheel. These two goals don’t have to be mutually exclusive and tying them together can solve both concerns.

Excerpt: Bribing your senior to take care of her health by tying it to driving could be the right answer for your situation.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Elderly Care in Charleston, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas.

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Edward Harrison

Founder at Heart of the Carolinas

Edward Harrison founded the Heart of the Carolinas Homecare in 2007 when he saw there was a need for caregivers that provide non-medical home care services, at a price that most people could afford. It was standard in the industry to require hourly minimums and it was common to be assigned a caregiver, not matched with one based on your individual personal needs. Edward understood that to make a successful relationship between caregiver and client, skills were not enough, personality and compatibility plays as much a role as do skills.

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