As parents, your first concern is usually the safety of your children. When an older person comes to live with you, you have to shift your way of thinking for everyone’s benefit. (If your parents are hurt, you will have to look after them. Looking after a bedridden older person and a baby is tough!)
After your parents move in, the biggest concern you are going to have with your young children is access to medication; the biggest concern you are going to have for your older parents iswhat surprises are left on the floor.
Older people often have arthritis. Opening medicine is painful if it is a childproof cap. ( I never will forget the day my mother asked my four year old to open the childproof cap on the medicine bottle for her, and she did!) Consequently, they will need an easy way to access their medicince. You have got to find a safe place for the medicine; one that your parent can open and your child can’t. A locked medicine cabinet may be the best choice.
If your seniors are lucky enough to have their own bathroom, keep the bathroom locked and don’t let the children use it. Not only does keeping the door locked solve the medicine problem, but it also solves the problem of slick floors and germs. Kids will bring home every germ imaginable, especially if they are going to daycare. The last thing you want is to expose your parents to new germs.
If your parent has trouble remembering, you may want to take control of the medicine and dole it out, keeping it locked up at all other times. As for toys and slick stuff the kids may spill on the floor, this can be a real problem, especially if stuff is left on the floor during the middle of the night. The best thing to do is have a pick up before you go to bed and check the floor, especially in the kitchen area. If you have older children, you may make this one of their chores, but you should still have to check behind them. Remember, in some cases, all it takes is a small fall to send a senior to the hospital.