What to Do If Aggressive Holiday Traffic Is Overwhelming Your Elderly Parents
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What to Do If Aggressive Holiday Traffic Is Overwhelming Your Elderly Parents

While the holidays bring joy to millions of Americans, they also cause heavy traffic congestion and overcrowded roads. This usually happens because many people visit their relatives in rural areas, rushing to buy Christmas presents and check into hotels. The aggressive traffic congestion during the holiday season can be particularly overwhelming for senior citizens who still drive themselves around.

 

Fortunately, there are several things you can do to keep your elderly parents safe if aggressive holiday traffic is overwhelming them.

Drive Together for Holiday Shopping

Generally, humans are social creatures. Recent scientific reports show that your dopamine and oxytocin levels increase when you hang out with people you like or are comfortable with. That being said, driving together with your elderly parents for holiday shopping can prove to be highly beneficial.

 

Not only will you be able to buy items faster, but you can also bond together in the car, telling each other stories or listening to your favorite songs. This will help you pass the time faster and calm your elderly parent amid the aggressive holiday traffic.

Offer to Run Errands for Them

Even though you cannot always be with your elderly parents around the clock, helping them with errands and driving them to doctor's appointments is something you can do. You can set aside a day or two during the week to go shopping for them so they can drive less than they would.

 

If you're not available to do it, you can also pick another relative to do it. This means your elderly parents will spend less time behind the wheel, which will keep you and them at ease, especially during the holidays when traffic volume is usually high and aggressive.

Show Them How to Shop Online

One of the best ways to keep your elderly parents away from the aggressive holiday traffic and crowded shopping centers is online shopping. Nowadays, you can buy almost anything you want from the comfort of your home and deliver it straight to your doorstep. This is a good thing, especially if you want to avoid driving to the grocery stores.

 

If your elderly parent is not familiar with online shopping, you can create a shopping list with them over the phone and proceed to place an order for them. Once they see how easy it is to shop online, they'll be encouraged to do it more often and avoid driving to shopping centers altogether.

Ask Them to Take Breaks

Sitting for hours in traffic can be overwhelming and exhausting to anyone. Therefore, if your elderly parent has to drive themselves to a doctor's appointment or shopping center during the holidays, advise them to take regular breaks to refresh, take a few deep breaths, and stretch out their legs.

 

Doing this will help calm them down, especially if they feel anxious or overwhelmed by the heavy traffic.

Get Help From Experts

Are you seeking in-home care for your elderly parents in Frankfort, Versailles, Midway, Georgetown, and Lawrenceburg, KY? Senior Helpers Bluegrass has a team of well-trained, compassionate, and friendly staff who can offer personal, transitional, and companion care to your senior loved one.

 

From driving them to the doctor's office or grocery store to medication reminders and diet monitoring, you can count on us to provide the assistance your senior loved one needs to lead a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life. Contact us to see how we can help.