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Updated 7/13/17 1:00 pm | Alert1 wants you to preserve and sustain the bond you share with your father. You’ve relied on him your entire life. He’s given you tough love, but he’s always had your back and pushed you to do the right thing.
He taught you how to ride a bike. He carried you on his shoulders during hot Fourth of July parades so you could see the action better. He was the driving force behind family camping trips to the mountains. He was the loudest to cheer from the bleachers during your high school football rallies and sports games.
But now he’s older, and it’s difficult to see that dad isn’t the superman you remember from childhood. And he is the last person to admit to his shortcomings. You do not want him to overextend himself doing maintenance around the house or out in the yard.
You want him to stay protected from life’s unexpected injuries. It’s time to repay him for all the times he started the hard conversation and talked you into doing therightthing instead of the easy thing.
Your job is to convince your dad it’s time for anAlert1 senior medicalalert system. But how do you convince your hero that he, too, needs something to lean on?
1. Discuss Aging on a Walk
Choose a familiar neighborhood route for a relaxing leisure stroll with your senior. Use this time as a pleasant distraction to keep him from balking at a serious topic like getting a medical alert system. Your dad will be more receptive to your argument if you present it in a casual and sincere tone.
Not a walking type? Try talking over a round of golf or an afternoon of fishing. They key is to put him in a comfortable, non-confrontational setting.
2. Seek His Sage Counsel
Your dad gives advice, not vice-a-versa. It’s been that way for 30, 40 or 50 years? Don’t expect a complete role reversal to happen immediately. Insisting that he needs a medical alert system may backfire. Open the conversation up. Ask him how he feels and see where it goes.
Be the first to open up. Share your concerns and observations about his health and well-being. Did he look a little off balance on that ladder last week? Welcome his feedback.
Your dad should understand that a medical alert system is not just for himself, but for his family. Maybe he just needs the incentive of providing a sense of comfort to his children. With reducing your worry in his mind, he may even volunteer on his own to use a fall detection alert.
3. Stick to the Facts on Aging Populations
Where entreaties to get a medical alert system fail, logic may succeed. Your dad has always been a reasonable man, swayed by facts over sentiment. People often respond to statistics. It’s why we wear seat belts, enroll in senior healthcare and quit smoking.
Use the following statistics to wake him up to the realities of his later years, no matter how well he’s weathered them:
- 1 in every 3 adults age 65 years and over falls each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Falls are the leading cause of both serious and potential fatal injuries in older adults.
- 1.6 million older adults go to the emergency department for fall-related injuries each year (National Institutes of Health).
- 65-year-olds are at a greater risk of falling than average. This risk rises for 75-year-olds, and is still higher for those 80 and over (National Safety Council).
4. Explain The Aging in Place Options
Your dad may hesitate due to misconceptions about medical alert systems. He may think they’re difficult to use, bulky and conspicuous. Or that they area only for getting help if you have fallen. Those perceptions might make him feel older and more helpless.
Help him see the opposite. Senior medical alert devices consist of simple parts that work at the push of a button. An alert system gives dad quick and reliable access to help. This allows him to maintain an independent lifestyle in his own home.
5. Share Insights on Aging Incidents
No one ages in isolation. Your friends’ parents have also reached their golden years. You can share stories of people who benefited from a medical alert system. Compare them to others who suffered because they couldn’t reach the telephone in time.
People of any age who fall may lie helpless for hours or days suffer. Everything from dehydration and hypothermia to muscle breakdown and renal failure may occur.While the details of real-life catastrophes won’t be pretty, they drive a sense of urgency home. He can prevent all of these serious implications with a senior medical alert.
6. Encourage Senior Exercise
Appeal to his man of action persona. Especially for seniors, exercise is one of the best weapons your dad has to reduce his chances of falling. Beyond improving energy and mood, exercise improves strength and balance. Help him focus on action and prevention and make a medical a medical alert system a “just in case” tool.
Encourage dad to take an exercise class with other seniors, or to pursue at least 30 minutes of cardio on his own each day. If dad already enjoys rowing, paddleball, or swimming encourage him to keep it up. Encourage him to try something new too. Many retirees are finding camaraderie by filling their time with yoga, karate and tai-chi.
7. Compromise with aging loved ones
At this point if he is still resisting a medical alert system, it’s time to place those bargaining chips on the table. You know that there’s something he’s been asking you to do for years. Or perhaps he wants you to do something for your own good. Quit smoking. Sell the motorcycle. Add leafy, green vegetables in your senior diet. Now is the time to make some important changes of your own.
If dad’s willing to compromise, you should be, too. Remember, it’s the tough conversations and tough actions that make rock star caregivers.
If you follow these 7 tips, convincing your dad to try Alert1 medical alert systems will be a snap. And maybe he'll even forgive you for not calling your mother more often.