If and when you should find that your parent needs mobility products, it can be a difficult conversation. Obviously, many of us aren’t accustomed to the idea of our parents needing our help with mobility, when it first happens. This blog article will look at options for gently introducing your parents or other older relatives to mobility products. The focus is on ensuring dignity and quality of life are not impacted any more than absolutely necessary.
Manual Mobility Products
It may be that, at first, a straightforward and affordable product is the way to go. In this case, you’d potentially be thinking about a standard wheelchair. Standard wheelchairs are what are sometimes thought of as the “classic wheelchair”. The self-propelled options, where the occupant moves themselves, help the wheelchair user to maintain their independence as long as possible. A fusion of self-propelled and transit wheelchair function is a possibility. For reference, a transit wheelchair is one where the chair is pushed by an attendant using the handlebars. Pictured to the left is an example of a self-propelled wheelchair with handlebars incorporated to allow for an attendant to push as and when needed.
For even less demanding mobility situations, a parent (or, for that matter, another older relative) might only require a rollator. These wheeled walking frames are suitable for users who are still able to walk to a significant degree.
Rollators have begun to break out from their old image of excessively “medical” products, as the range increases. Of course, this makes them a more palatable choice for when a parent needs mobility products but wants something more modern and stylish.
Rollz Motion Rollators, a high-end modern take on the traditional rollator
Powered Mobility Products
Similarly to rollators, mobility scooters have been diversifying and becoming more stylish in recent years. This trend shows no sign of stopping, particularly amongst large scooters. There’s some real standout road-legal models to catch the eye. Increasing numbers of first-time mobility scooter users are opting for rugged choices. This is unsurprising. After all, for those who have had a lifetime of high-octane adventure, transitioning to a mobility vehicle may not always be a smooth adjustment. When a more outdoorsy parent needs mobility products, it might be worthwhile to consider going with a bit of a beast.
Popular choices with our customers who don’t want anything too “medical” in feel when it comes to their outdoor travel include the Scooterpac Invader Xtreme and the LuXe Mobility X1000.
And there’s more on the horizon when it comes to mobility product innovation. As the above suggests, mobility scooter manufacturers are responding to a more diverse and adventurous market with exciting new product designs. Consider, for instance, the Scooterpac Cabin Car. It may currently be the last word in trailblazing luxury. But who knows what will be thought of next?
What Lifestyle & Mobility can say for sure is that, increasingly, we’ve been hearing from customers buying mobility scooters for their parents, that they would quite like to have a go on the products themselves. This is certainly not something which anyone in the industry would have heard much in days gone by! It’s easy to see why this is no longer the case though. So, let’s round things off with a sneak peak at the Scoozy S800, coming to the UK market soon. In fact, it’s available to pre-order today.
