Tag: old

Days Out · Family

Planning a Day Trip for Every Generation

Jayne1 Comment

The summer holidays are almost close enough to touch, and we’re already thinking about things that we can do to fill up the six weeks holidays. There will be things that we do which are just for the four of us (and sometimes including Maureen!) But we also want to take the opportunity to use our summertime freedom to spend quality time with the whole extended family. With this in mind, we’ve been thinking about what we need to consider to make our day trips fun for every generation of the family and we thought we’d share some tips with you today.

Accessibility

Whether you’re pushing a buggy, a wheelchair or using a walking stick or crutches to get around, access is something that should be at the front of your mind. Choosing places to visit which are very hilly or have a lot of stairs is going to be a nightmare for anyone with less than perfect mobility check websites ahead of time to see if any provision has been made for disabled tourists or those with small children. Take a look at this post if you’re interested in accessible days out in Yorkshire. 

Refreshments

There is no such thing as a great British day trip if you can’t stop somewhere for a decent cuppa! This is especially true if you’re day tripping with older members of your family but everyone needs to eat, so you might want to check out whats on offer before you plan your trip, obviously a picnic is a good option for the whole family and you can take food to suit everyone, minimising the risk of someone going uncatered for.

Toilets

One of the most important things to think about on any family trip is whether there will be public toilets available. Don’t forget, if you’re planning a trip which includes several generations or family members with additional needs you will need to also consider if there are wheelchair accessible amenities as well as changing tables which can be used by both mum or dad.

Parking

If you’re going by car then parking is going to be something you need to think about, too. Is the parking close to where you’re going? Is there disabled parking? Is there family parking? Is there a park and ride? Do you need to pay for parking and does the machine take coins, notes or cards? Many places offer free parking to blue Badge holders, but there are some which still charge even for disable parking, so it’s all stuff that you’ll want to be prepared for in advance.

Entertainment

Often, the older members of the family make sacrifices when it comes to day tripping – if you’re going somewhere kid-centric, Nans and Grandads end up being coat-holders and buggy watchers while the youngsters have all the fun. Try to think about whether there’s entertainment for ALL ages so that the family coat rack doesn’t end up bored out of their mind!

Family

Helping an Elderly Relative to Stay Independent

Jayne1 Comment

There comes a time in a lot of people’s lives where they need to start making arrangements to help their elderly relatives. A lot of people get older but want to remain in the home they’ve known for decades, and that means making their environment safe and suitable for their additional needs, if they have limited mobility, sight or memory problems. There are lots of ways that you can make a home suitable again, and today we’re looking at five of them. If your budget allows, it’s also worth considering hiring someone to look after them in their own home, simply Google a phrase such as looking for companion care in Tucson? with your own home town and you’ll be sure to find a lot of places offering elderly care.

Stairlift

If your elderly relative lives in a house with more than one storey, getting up and down the stairs can be really daunting. As well as the physical effort needed to climb the stairs, the risk of a fall gets worse as they get older. This is where a stairlift could really help. It allows people to travel safely between floors without the risk of falling, or needing to expend a lot of energy to make the climb.

Alarm System

A lot of elderly people worry about having a fall in their home and not being able to call for help, so personal alarm systems can give a lot of peace of mind. They allow people to call for help in an emergency and an ambulance to be sent remotely so that they aren’t left by themselves in an emergency.

Walk-in Bath

Although showers can be built on floor level so that you don’t need to step up to get into them, many elderly people prefer the security of sitting down in a bath, although getting into one can be very tricky. A walk-in bath has a sealed door which opens and closes and allows people to sit comfortably to wash, reducing the risk of slipping and falling when you’re at your most vulnerable.

Video Doorbells

Many elderly people fear opening the door to an unknown person, especially once the sun has gone down, and this can leave them very isolated, especially in the winter. There are lots of video doorbells on the market now which allow people to see who’s at the door without needing to answer it, and this could give your elderly relative the freedom to know when it’s safe to answer the door.

Remove Obstacles

This is the simplest, and cheapest way, to make surroundings safer for your elderly relative. Thousands of accidents happen every year when elderly people, especially those with limited eyesight, trip and fall because of things like rug edges, electrical cords and low items of furniture. It could be a good idea to get an expert to come in to assess the house as they’ll spot hazards that you might miss.

Life

What’s Your Language Age?

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Written in collaboration with SunLife

I think you can tell a lot about a person by the way they speak and specifically the language they use. Accents are one thing, but actual language is quite another, and I think language can give away a person’s age, background and a whole lot more. I’ve got quite a few little idiosyncratic phrases that I use, some of which started off intending to be slightly ironic (for instance…”OH MY DAYS!”) and ended up being things that I say every day. I also see phrases used by my younger cousins which I genuinely don’t even understand, which really lets me know I’m not that young any more!

SunLife has put together a language age quiz to see if they can determine your age by asking questions about the language we use. They said “The English language is ever evolving; long gone are the days of ‘tally-ho’ and ‘spiffing’, now we’re taking ‘selfies’ with our bae’…whatever that means. We’ve created a quiz to determine just how old your language actually is.”

 I must say, not only did I find it fascinating, I was rather amused by my own results…

SunLife language age

If I really think about it, I probably do use a few phrases which are a little bit…young…for me, but TWENTY?! Given the fact that it’s my 32nd birthday on Saturday, I can’t decide whether to be flattered or mortified!

I’m not sure whether to start making a concerted effort to keep up with the latest trends and buzzwords or regress and start using phrases that my Nan used to use, (gems like “GAWD LOVE US!” and “You can blow me down with a feather!”) but I’m pretty sure I’ll be paying a bit more attention to the words that come out of my mouth in future…well, maybe!

What was YOUR language age? Do you speak like a youth or more like my Nan? Or, did you find it got your age absolutely spot on? I’d love to hear how you got on so please do leave me a comment below.

Family · Opinion · Parenting

Euthanasia.

Jayne18 Comments

UPDATE

I just thought I’d update this post to let you all know that Happy passed away at some point last night. We think she passed in her sleep and seems to have gone peacefully. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this post and comment, she’ll be sadly missed but we feel happy that we were able to offer her a home and a part in our lives.

Rest in peace, my love.

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Husband and I have both been unlucky enough to see elderly relatives fall victim to so-called ‘age related’ illnesses, he more so than I with both of his maternal grandparents suffering a combination of the most common ones. It’s not so much that they developed these illnesses, but that they spent years living with them, proud people needing to be cared for in a way that their former selves would have hated. We had this saying – “you wouldn’t treat your animals like it”; an allusion to the dignity that animals are afforded when their eyes/legs/brains give up and we resort to euthanasia. Humans are left to wallow and suffer while animals are sent peacefully to their place of rest without having to go through it.

Continue reading “Euthanasia.” →