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Five Things You Must Do When Traveling With Older Parents
By:
James Yee
 Here are five things you must do to ensure that you and your parents
will have a great vacation.
1. Ensure that the itinerary is not too fast paced.
Old folks tend to get tired easily and thus it is not advisable to
include activities that are too strenuous. It is also not advisable to
pack too many activities in the itinerary such that you and your
parents have to rush from one place to another.
2.
Ensure that everyone has ample sleep
Plan to have at least six to eight hours of sleep for you and your
parents for each day of your vacation. Try to avoid having any more
activities after 11 p.m. Prepare some hot water for your parents to
soak their legs before bed time if there is a fair amount of walking
in the day.
3.
Have ample supply of their medication
If your parents are suffering from diabetes, asthma, hypertension,
high cholesterol or any other illness, make sure you obtain ample
supply of medication from their doctors to last for the whole trip. To
ensure that you remember to bring the medication, create a checklist
of things to bring and put their medication among the top five items
on that list. As a safety precaution, ask them to carry a medical
record of their illness and contact details in case you are not around
when they need medical attention.
4.
Healthy diet
Most old people do not take heavy meals and thus you need to plan for
multiple light and healthy meals that are low on salts, oil and sugars
but high in fiber. Always have a sandwich or high fiber biscuits in
your bag in case they get hungry and there isn't a snack bar in the
vicinity. Also make sure that you and your parents drink a lot of
water to prevent dehydration.
5. Bring along a first aid
travel pack.
Your first aid travel pack should contain medication for fever and
diarrhea, cold symptoms and giddiness. It should also include a
thermometer, tweezers, sharp scissors, safety pins, adhesive bandages,
sterile gauze, adhesive tape and antiseptic wipes. While this list is
not exhaustive, the stocks in the travel pack should be enough to
cater to most conditions that require general first aid assistance. Do
check the expiry date for those medications that you bring along to
ensure that they are safe for consumption.
Traveling with your parents need not be a hassle as long as you plan
ahead and take care of their needs. Involve them in all the activities
along the way and remember to have fun!
About the Author:
James Yee enjoys traveling and photography. His useful information on
travel is available in
http://www.sogoodnews.com/travel/
Additional Information and
webpage by Paul Susic MA Licensed
Psychologist Ph.D. Candidate
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