88 year old dad wants a mobility scooter. How can we discourage him?

My parents got one scooter. But never realized or checked on whether the scooter could get thru the door of their 1950's ranch house before they bought it. No it did not fit thru the tight turns into the bathroom, bedroom, etc. The thing sat for years unused only played with by people zipping around the living room fireplace only open space in the house it would fit. Eventually Mom asked me to take it so the spare room would have less stuff. I kept it, while thinking maybe my sister would need. But she is in a nursing home and has no need or ability to use it either. The one they had came apart into a few sections so that you could put in your trunk and go to the mall???? the base with the motor and wheels is kind of heavy and also too wide/and deep to fit into my medium size trunk. It was a huge waste of money-they paid out of pocket for this thing they have had for more than 5 years-there was no medical reason at the time-no way to know how your insurance would work or dr. recommendation to have this item vs a manual type wheel chair-no motor.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am in Australia and he is in England, but I will look into alternative ways to get other people involved and get him out more. There is a great local seniors group.

Yes, discourage him. Even though our township allows these scooters on the roadway, I think its dangerous. I really don't think they are suppose to be used on main highways and driven miles to get here and there. My husband says how else are they going to get around, I say Senior bussing. One of the low income apartments has a van for that purpose.

I have watched a man on a scooter riding on the sidewalk fall over almost in the road. This was from my office window. The sidewalk was uneven. TG a couple of people stopped immediately to help. After that he road in the road. We had a couple of clients who because of disabilities got them free. Only to find out that when the battery could no longer charge, it was $100 or more to buy a new battery. They could not afford it, so the scooter just sat.

If your Dad can't drive a car, he can't drive a scooter. I would also check the law in your area to see if they are allowed on roadways.

According to your profile, your dad has mild memory loss, therefore your thinking that he shouldn’t be operating a scooter is very wise. He could have a very bad accident. You and your sister are being very logical to be concerned about him.

Are you speaking about the motorized scooter where the elderly person is seated and drives? They are very expensive without insurance. It’s difficult to get approved for insurance for these.

My mother’s neurologist said that people are turned down all of the time when trying to become approved for a scooter.

Best of luck to your dad. This must be so hard for you and your sister to witness.

I suppose that your dad wishes to be more involved in his life and feels like he has lost control of his life. That’s a tough position for him to be in.

Your sister probably only has so much time to devote to shopping and it’s hard for her too.

It’s frustrating for everyone. So sorry that you are dealing with this situation. Hope that you can find a viable solution soon. Best wishes to you and your family.

Perhaps you can find a way to get your dad out and to the shops. That might stop his pursuit of transportation by way of a mobility scooter.

Isolation is a real problem for our seniors. They can not help but feel bad by being cooped up and being by themselves most the time, it does start eating away at their wellbeing. Find a way to change that for him.

Very possibly Jewelty's sister won't take him shopping with her, because it is very time-consuming. I would have loved to have done my mother's shopping for her, but she refused. So it took hours and hours...

I think you might also want to try blocking the afternoon tv ads! I see lots of clients with their eyes on stalks wishing they had these marvellous machines that apparently you just pop into your car and away you go... (oh yeah? And have you tried lifting them?).

Why won't your sister take him shopping? And why is he so keen to go?

If this is shopping as recreation (terrible timing for it, by the way) then you could have a look for community networks and volunteer associations in his area, and see if anyone has set up a seniors' minibus service or similar idea.

Could he use Uber?

You should figure out an alternative way for him to get about independently.

How far away are the shops?