3 Things You Should Never Include in Your Parents’ Bathroom and What to Choose Instead
When we think about helping our seniors stay comfortable and independent at home, the bathroom deserves particular attention.
It is a space we use multiple times, every day but wet surfaces, changes in floor level and the physical movements required to shower, sit and stand can make it increasingly challenging as mobility, balance or strength changes.
The good news is that improving bathroom safety for seniors does not mean creating a clinical-looking space. Many accessibility features can be incorporated beautifully into the design while making everyday routines easier and safer.
Inspired by recommendations from aging-in-place experts featured in a recent CNN Underscored article on making homes more accessible, here are three things to reconsider in your parents’ bathroom and what to include instead.
1. A Shower That Requires a Person to Stand the Entire Time
An aesthetically pleasing shower is not necessarily a practical, functional shower.
Standing during the time it takes to get clean in a shower can become tiring or uncomfortable for someone experiencing changes in balance, strength or mobility. It can also become more difficult following an injury or surgery.
Include instead: A folding shower seat or stationary bench seat
A properly installed shower seat provides a secure place to sit while bathing. In smaller shower spaces a folding version can be folded away against the wall when not in use. It is a simple feature that can make the shower more comfortable without taking over the design of the space.
Paired with slip-resistant flooring and optimally a zero clearance threshold at the entrance and an easy-to-reach handheld showerhead, it can help create a shower that works well now and as needs change.
2. Towel bars Where Grab Bars are Actually Needed
Towel bars may look like something you can grab onto if you lose your balance, but they are not designed to support a person’s body weight. If you put all your body weight on a towel bar you will most likely pull it out of the wall and get injured in the process.
This is particularly important around the shower, bathtub and toilet, where someone may naturally reach for the nearest fixture when sitting, standing or stepping over a threshold.
Include instead: Properly installed grab bars.
Modern grab bars have come a long way. There are stylish options that coordinate with other bathroom fixtures and blend naturally into the overall design.
The key is making sure they are installed in the right locations and properly secured so they can provide reliable support when it is needed.
3. A Toilet That Is Too Low
A standard height toilet may work perfectly well today, but sitting down and standing up from a lower height can become more difficult when knee, hip or general mobility issues develop.
This is one of those details homeowners often do not think about until it becomes a problem.
Include instead: A comfort-height or ADA-height toilet.
A higher height toilet reduces the distance a person needs to lower and lift themselves. This is a permanent solution that integrates naturally into the bathroom and is considered universal as it is good for people of all ages.
Good Accessible Design Should Work Before You Need It
Creating a safer bathroom for your parents does not have to mean waiting until there is an accident, surgery or significant change in mobility.
In fact, accessibility is often most effective when it is considered before it becomes necessary.
A folding shower seat, properly installed grab bars and an appropriate toilet height are relatively simple choices, but together they can make everyday routines more comfortable and support greater independence.
Good bathroom safety for seniors is not about designing for limitations. It is about creating a space that can continue working beautifully as the people using it and their needs change.
The three alternatives are drawn from the accessibility products highlighted in CNN Underscored’s July 17, 2026 aging-in-place feature: a folding shower seat, grab bars and a raised toilet seat. (muckrack.com)
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