If you have plans on your calendar to take a camping trip and you’re going to be taking this adventure with some elderly family members, there are a few things that you’ll want to plan and prepare for to ensure that they will stay safe and healthy all throughout your time spent outdoors.
To help you with this planning and preparation, here are three safety tips for camping with elderly family members.
Choose A Safe Environment To Set Up Camp
With any camping trip, but especially if you’re going to be camping with elderly people, you’ll want to make sure that the environment that you choose to set up camp in will be safe for everyone. While you can’t eliminate all potential hazards when you’re out in the wild, you can seek to find a place to set up camp that won’t have a high chance of causing injury to a senior citizen.
To do this, look for places where the ground is clear and flat. Try to stay away from cliffs or places that are particularly rocky or full of roots. This will help to reduce the chance of your elderly loved one tripping and falling on hazards underfoot. Especially if they use a walker, a cane, or are coming from an assisted living facility, you’ll want to be sure that you take these extra precautions to keep them safe.
Consider The Height
When camping, tents, campers, and trailers might have a lower clearance than your elderly loved one is used to being in. This could cause them to either hit their head when being in these camping spaces or require them to be bent over in an uncomfortable and unsafe position for their body.
To eliminate these risks, make sure that your elderly loved one will be staying in a tent or other accommodation that will allow them to stand up completely. This way, they can keep their body in tip-top shape all throughout your camping trip.
Prioritize Restful Sleep
As people get older, it’s vital that they get enough sleep at night. Otherwise, they could have a very hard time getting through the next day. They could be more likely to fall asleep in unsafe places, have physical pain in their bodies, have a cloudy mind, and more.
To keep this from happening to your elderly loved one, you’ll want to make sure that they have the right environment for getting restful sleep. Make sure their camping bed is comfortable for them and that they have everything they need to settle in at night and have a calm and restful night’s sleep.
If you’re going to be camping with elderly family members in the near future, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you ensure that everyone has a great time and is able to keep themselves safe on this trip.
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