Making Your Parent’s Home Safer: Home Safety Changes You and Your Siblings Need to Agree On

Most older adults want to stay in their own home for as long as possible. That preference is strong and consistent — surveys of older adults show the vast majority would choose to remain at home rather than move to a care facility, even as health and mobility change.

Making that possible safely usually requires changes to the home. Some are simple and inexpensive. Others require a contractor. Most families are surprised by how much can be improved without major renovation.

This guide covers the highest-impact modifications by area of the home, what to prioritize first, and how to approach the conversation with a parent who may be resistant to the idea.

Start With the Highest-Risk Areas

Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults, and the home is where most falls happen. The three highest-risk areas are the bathroom, stairs, and the path between the bedroom and bathroom at night. Start there.

Bathroom

The bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house for older adults. Wet surfaces, narrow spaces, and the physical demands of bathing and using the toilet combine to create significant fall risk.

Highest-priority bathroom changes:

Grab bars — Install grab bars next to the toilet (on both sides if possible) and inside the shower or bathtub. These should be mounted into wall studs or with appropriate anchors that can support a person’s full weight. Towel bars are not substitutes — they aren’t designed to bear that load.

Non-slip surfaces — Add non-slip mats or adhesive strips to the bathtub or shower floor. Textured bath mats with rubber backing outside the shower. Remove throw rugs or replace them with non-slip versions.

Walk-in shower or roll-in shower — For parents with significant mobility challenges, converting a bathtub to a walk-in shower with a low threshold and a fold-down shower seat eliminates the high step in-and-out of a tub that causes many falls.

Shower chair or bench — Even without a full conversion, a shower chair or bench in the shower allows bathing seated. This reduces fatigue and the risk of falls during bathing.

Raised toilet seat — A raised toilet seat or a toilet riser makes sitting down and standing up significantly easier for people with reduced lower-body strength or hip or knee problems.

Handheld showerhead — Allows bathing seated, which combines well with a shower chair. Relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

Bedroom

Path to the bathroom at night — Many falls happen on the way to the bathroom at night. Night lights along the path, a lamp within easy reach of the bed, and a clear path free of obstacles make this significantly safer.

Bed height — The bed should be at a height where feet touch the floor comfortably when sitting on the edge. A bed that’s too low requires substantial effort to stand up from; a bed that’s too high makes it difficult to sit safely. Bed risers or a different bed frame can adjust height.

Phone within reach — A parent who falls out of bed or can’t get up needs to be able to call for help. A phone (or a medical alert device) within reach of the floor is important.

Stairs and Transitions

Handrails on both sides — If stairs have a handrail on only one side, add one to the other side. Many people instinctively reach for support on both sides as strength or balance changes.

Step lighting — Motion-activated lights on stairs help significantly at night.

Stair lift — For parents with significant mobility limitations who live in a multi-story home, a stair lift eliminates the stairs entirely. These are a larger investment but are often the modification that makes staying in a multi-story home possible.

Eliminate or secure threshold transitions — Small raised transitions between flooring types (carpet to hardwood, for example) are tripping hazards. Threshold ramps or transition strips can smooth these out.

Kitchen

Lever-style faucets — Standard round knobs are difficult to operate with reduced hand strength or arthritis. Lever faucets require far less grip. This also applies to door handles throughout the house.

Non-slip floor mats — In front of the sink and stove where people tend to stand still for extended periods.

Reorganize commonly-used items — Move items used every day to between waist and shoulder height to eliminate reaching overhead or bending low. Heavy pots or appliances used regularly should be accessible without reaching up or down.

Automatic stove shut-off — Devices exist that detect when a burner has been on for too long without movement nearby and shut it off. For parents with memory concerns, this can be an important safety measure.

Entryways and Around the Home

Ramp or zero-step entry — A step at the front door can be a significant obstacle for parents with walkers, canes, or wheelchairs. A ramp (or a home with a zero-step entry, if moving is under consideration) eliminates this.

Better outdoor lighting — Motion-activated lights at the entry, driveway, and any exterior steps.

Secure exterior handrails — Test handrails at any exterior steps. They loosen over time and a parent who relies on one that gives way is in danger.

Remove scatter rugs throughout the home — Scatter rugs throughout the house are one of the most common tripping hazards for older adults. Remove them or replace with non-slip versions.

Widen doorways if needed — If your parent currently uses, or may need, a wheelchair or walker, doorways need to be at least 32–36 inches wide. This is a more significant modification but may be necessary.

Technology and Monitoring

Medical alert devices — Wearable devices (often a pendant or wristband) allow a parent to call for help with a button press if they fall or have a medical emergency. This is particularly important for parents who live alone.

Voice-activated assistants — Devices like Amazon Echo or Google Home allow a parent to make calls, get reminders, control lights and thermostats, and call for help without needing to reach or move to a device. The value is especially high for parents with mobility limitations.

Smart locks and video doorbells — Allow a parent to answer the door without a difficult walk, and allow family members to see who is at the door remotely.

How to Pay for Modifications

AARP Home Fit Guide — A free resource that walks through home modifications with a room-by-room checklist.

Area Agencies on Aging — Many local agencies administer home modification programs for low-income older adults, sometimes at no cost. Find yours at eldercare.acl.gov.

Medicaid HCBS waivers — Some state Medicaid waivers cover home modifications as part of keeping people out of nursing facilities. Ask the state Medicaid office about what’s available.

Veterans’ benefits — Disabled veterans may qualify for home modification grants through the VA. The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant is one example.

Long-term care insurance — Some long-term care insurance policies cover home modifications. Review the policy or contact the insurer.

Getting a Professional Assessment

If you’re not sure which modifications are most important for your parent’s specific situation, an occupational therapist (OT) can do a home safety assessment. They’ll observe your parent in their home, identify specific hazards, and recommend modifications matched to their particular physical situation.

Home safety assessments by an OT are often covered by Medicare Part B when ordered by a physician. They’re worth requesting early — before a fall happens — rather than after.

Having the Conversation With Your Parent

Many parents are resistant to home modifications, which can feel like an acknowledgment of decline. A few things that help:

Frame it as practical, not about their limitations. “The bathroom floor is slippery — we should add some grip strips. I’m thinking about doing that in my house too” is different from “I’m worried about you falling.”

Start with the least intrusive changes. Non-slip strips, better lighting, and reorganized cabinets don’t require a conversation — just doing them. Larger changes (grab bars, ramps, stair lifts) benefit from involving your parent in the choice rather than presenting a done deal.

Involve their doctor. If your parent is resistant and you’re concerned, their physician can raise the issue at a visit — and often has more influence than a family member does.

Keeping the Family Coordinated

When a parent is aging in place, day-to-day coordination — medication schedules, upcoming appointments, care tasks that different family members handle — becomes an ongoing effort across the family.

Zenia Care gives caregiving families a shared, organized space for that: medications, appointments, tasks, and care updates all in one place, accessible to everyone who needs them.

Zenia Care gives you and your siblings a shared space to log what you observed during a visit — so the sibling who wasn’t there this week knows what you noticed and what still needs to be done. Available on the App Store and Google Play.