Now is the time when families are decorating their homes for the holidays. Sometimes, important safety tips get ignored in the desire to make a home festive. Make sure you’re not making these three mistakes when you’re decorating your parents’ home.

Scented Candles May Not be Advisable

If your parent is likely to forget a holiday-scented candle is lit before going to bed, don’t buy scented candles. There are safer options. An essential oil diffuser can scent a house using water and essential oils that are placed in an electric diffuser. Many diffusers can be set to operate for an hour or two before turning off automatically.

A wax melt is another idea. A warming base operates at a low temperature to slowly melt the wax cubes and fill a room with scent. If your parents are likely to forget to turn it off, look for a warming base that has a timer.

Live Trees Smell Great But Are Fire Hazards

If you put a live tree up in your parents’ house, will they keep it watered? It can be hard for some seniors to get down on hands and knees, get under a tree’s branches, and thoroughly water it once or twice a day.

A dried out live tree can go up in flames in seconds and set a room on fire. It may be better to get an artificial tree this year when you’re decorating your parents’ home. Some are pre-lit, which makes them easier to decorate. If the scent of pine is important to your family, essential oils and wax melts provide the scent without having the open flame a candle requires.

Power Bars and Extension Cords Should Not be Overused

Power bars are handy, but you cannot overuse them. If you have so many plugs that you need to plug a power bar into another power bar, you’re asking for trouble. Instead of having electrical light strands, get some battery-powered LED holiday light strands.

The same is true of extension cords. You shouldn’t be using multiple extension cords plugged into each other. If you’re using extension cords outside, make sure they’re rated for outdoor use.

Caregivers Can Help Your Parents Year-Round

What happens the rest of the year? Are you close enough to your parents that you visit weekly or even daily to help them with activities of daily living? Some families live in other states or countries and have to be long-distant caregivers.

Ease your worries and make sure your parents are okay throughout the year. Hire caregivers from home care agencies. They can stop by as often as needed to provide help with household chores like laundry and bathroom cleanings. They can cook meals, drive your parents to appointments, and schedule those appointments.

If you or an aging loved one are considering care, please call the caring staff at Activa Home Health at 561-819-0460. Serving Vero Beach, Okeechobee, Port St. Lucie, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Wellington, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Lauderhill, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach and surrounding communities.