When you’re caring for a parent who has difficulty walking or keeping their balance, you might be afraid they will suffer a fall. This is not an irrational fear: falls are the leading cause of injury in adults 65 and older. What should you do if your parent refuses to use a walker?
Sadly, many older adults would benefit from using a mobility aid but refuse to use or even try it. Why are older adults reluctant to use walkers, and how can you open them up to the idea?
Related Blog: How To Choose a Walker
Possible Reasons Your Parent Refuses to Use a Walker
Unfortunately, a negative stigma surrounds walkers and other types of mobility aids.
For so many people, walkers are associated with the loss of independence. A walker may seem to signal that your loved one has reached a benchmark in their life where they have declining health and need greater assistance in their daily routine.
Your loved one might feel like they’re losing some of their dignity when they use a walker. Most people can accept that their body is aging and they don’t have the strength or stability they had at a younger age, but they’re more concerned about losing their independence. People will not accept safety and stability if it means giving up their individuality and self-sufficiency.
As a supplier of mobility aids, we can tell you that low-quality walkers have only reinforced the stigma.
The traditional, gray walker—the most common walker provided by Medicare and hospitals—has a reputation for looking very drab, and it’s also notorious for awful ubiquitous contraptions such as tennis balls, because they don’t maneuver well. In fact, so many people who buy or receive these traditional walkers toss them out or just refuse to use them.
Related Blog: What’s the Difference Between a Walker and Rollator?
How To Help Your Parent Overcome Walker Stigmas
If your parent refuses to use a walker, there are three ways you can encourage them to reconsider. Use these tips when speaking to your parent:
- Be Positive: As we’ve mentioned, walkers are often associated with loss and limitations. But that’s not how it should be. When you’re speaking with your parent, emphasize that a walker will help them maintain their independence as their body changes. Using a walker can restore their ability to live life on their own terms, and it doesn’t mean they’ll have to give up their place in the driver’s seat of their own life.
- Invite them to Go for a Test-Drive: The best way to convince your parents or loved ones that a walker would enhance their lives is to allow them to experience it for themselves. By going for a test-drive, your parents are still in control of their decisions regarding their mobility. Take them to your local home medical equipment store and ask a sales associate to help you find the perfect walker to suit your parent’s needs. They can also help you adjust it to your loved one’s height so it’s comfortable for them to walk with. Then it’s time to test drive! Once your parent walks around a bit with the aid of a well-adjusted walker, they’ll start to see how much easier life could be.
Related Blog: The Benefits of Taking Your Mobility Walker for a Test Drive
- Select a Great Walker: Avoid the cheap, gray walkers or poor quality rollators that you can purchase at a big box store. These walkers come with brakes, a seat, and storage compartments – absolute essentials for strong mobility. Beyond their features, they’re also unlikely to have a long shelf life, and are notorious for being flimsy and uncomfortable. They also have a dismal appearance, and that can make your parent more reluctant to use it. Instead, visit a local pharmacy or medical supply store that offers NOVA walkers and rollators. Our walkers are of exceptional quality and come in a wide variety of beautiful colors, which are just more fun to shop for and allow for greater self-expression. NOVA walkers also come with a variety of attachable accessories, including cup holders, can holders, mobility bags, and more.
Related Blog: Why NOVA Makes Canes and Walkers in a Rainbow of Colors
Where Can You Test-Drive a Walker?
You can bring your parents to one of our partner pharmacies or HME stores to test drive our NOVA walkers and rollators. Our partner stores have an excellent selection of mobility aids, with experienced staff that can assist you and answer all your questions. Use our NOVA dealer locator to find a partner pharmacy in your area.
If you own an independent pharmacy, you can supply joyful and high-quality walkers and mobility aids for your customers when you join the NOVA Network, our ecosystem of care that connects customers with stores just like yours.
