The AskBart journal
Advice, guides & stories for families.
Clear, jargon-free guidance on choosing care, funding it and supporting someone you love — written by our independent care experts.
★ Editor’s pickHow to Choose a Dementia-Friendly Care Home
A good dementia care home is built around how dementia actually affects people. Here's how to spot one, and the questions to ask before you decide.
How to Choose a Dementia-Friendly Care Home
A good dementia care home is built around how dementia actually affects people. Here's how to spot one, and the questions to ask before you decide.
Early Signs and Symptoms of Dementia (2026)
Dementia usually starts gradually, and early signs are easy to mistake for normal ageing. Here's what to look for, and what to do if you're worried about someone.
The Types of Dementia Explained (2026)
Alzheimer's, vascular, mixed, Lewy body and frontotemporal dementia — what each one is, how common it is, and how the symptoms differ.
How Care Funding Differs Across the UK (2026)
Care funding is decided by each UK nation separately, so the rules — and the savings limits — change depending on where your relative lives.
Using Your Home to Pay for Care: Equity Release & the Alternatives
If the family home is the main asset, there are several ways it can pay for care besides selling it outright. Here's how each option works, and what to check first.
Who Pays for Care Home Fees? A Plain-English Guide (2026)
There are three ways care home fees get paid — self-funding, council funding and NHS funding — and many families use a mix. Here's how to work out which applies to you.
How to Talk to a Parent About Moving into a Care Home (2026)
How to open the conversation about care gently, handle the pushback, and keep your parent at the centre of the decision.
Coping with Guilt When a Parent Moves into a Care Home
Nearly every family feels guilty when a parent moves into a care home, even when it's the right decision. Here's why that happens, and how to carry it more lightly.
When an Elderly Parent Refuses Care — or Won't Move
When a parent refuses help or won't leave home, the law, their dignity and your worry all pull in different directions. Here's how to move forward without a fight you can't win.
Extra Care Housing (Assisted Living) Explained
Extra care housing gives you your own front door with care staff on site — a genuine middle ground between independent living and a care home.
Finding Inclusive Care: Cultural, Religious & LGBT+ Needs
Moving into care shouldn't mean hiding who you are. Here's how to find a home that genuinely respects someone's culture, faith, language or LGBT+ identity — and the questions that reveal whether it does.
How to Choose a Care Home: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)
A clear, step-by-step way to choose the right care home — from working out the level of care needed to visiting, checking CQC ratings, and signing the contract.
Caring for Someone with Sight or Hearing Loss
Sight and hearing loss can be mistaken for confusion or dementia. Here's how to spot it, support someone day to day, and find care that adapts to sensory needs.
Caring for Someone with Parkinson's
Parkinson's care lives or dies on small details, especially medication timing. Here's what actually helps, and what to check when choosing care.
Managing Continence with Dignity
Bladder and bowel problems are common in later life and often treatable. Here's how to get it assessed, manage it well day to day, and protect dignity throughout.
Live-in Care Explained: the Alternative to a Care Home
Live-in care lets someone stay in their own home with a carer on hand day and night. Here's how it works, what it costs, and how to decide if it's right.
Preventing Falls at Home: a Practical Guide
Falls are the leading reason older people lose their independence — but most are preventable. Here's a practical, room-by-room guide to reducing the risk.
Medication Management at Home: a Safe Guide
Missed, doubled or muddled doses are a common and preventable problem. Here's how to keep an older relative's medication safe, simple and on track.
Getting Your Affairs in Order: a Later-Life Checklist
The wills, power of attorney, wishes and paperwork worth sorting while you can — a practical checklist that spares your family guesswork later.
Care Home Contracts: What to Check Before You Sign
A care home contract is a serious financial commitment, often signed under pressure. Here's exactly what to read, question and get in writing before you sign.
What to Do When Someone Dies in a Care Home
A gentle, practical guide to the first hours, days and weeks after a loved one dies in a care home, with the steps to take and where to find support.
Downsizing and Decluttering Before a Move into Care
A room-by-room guide to sorting a lifetime of belongings before a care home move — done kindly, calmly, and without the overwhelm.
Making the Most of Visits to a Loved One in a Care Home
Simple, practical ways to make visits to a care home warmer and less awkward — including what to bring, when to go, and how to visit someone with dementia.
Day Centres & Adult Day Care Explained
Day centres give an older person company and activity during the day, and give their carer a reliable break. Here's how they work, what they cost, and how to find one.
Understanding Different Types of End-of-Life Care - An Expert Guide 2025!
A clear guide to hospice, palliative and end-of-life care in the UK — what each term means, where care can happen, how it's funded, and how to plan ahead.
An Expert Guide To Hospice Evaluations: Essential Information for Families In 2025!
A clear, UK-focused guide to how hospice evaluations work, who's eligible, and how families can prepare for and get support with end-of-life care.
The Impact of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Hospice Care
Therapy animals can bring comfort and companionship to people nearing the end of life. Here's what animal-assisted therapy involves, what the evidence supports, and how to check it's done safely.
Retirement Living Glossary: Essential Terms from A to Z
Care and retirement housing come with their own language. This UK-focused glossary explains the terms you're most likely to meet, from housing types to funding and legal terms.
10 Top Mistakes to Avoid in Retirement for a Happier Life - An Expert Guide In 2025!
Retirement brings freedom, but also new risks to your money, health and sense of purpose. Here are the ten mistakes that trip people up most, and what to do instead.
State Pension Payment Date to Change for Millions
Your state pension payment might arrive unexpectedly early in April 2025 - learn why this crucial change affects millions of retired Brits.
Survey Shows 58% Of Care Workers Are Currently Paid Below The National Living Wage
Despite soaring demand for care services, most workers earn poverty wages - exposing a shameful reality in an industry dominated by women and minorities.
UK First’ Health and Social Care Bill to Receive Royal Assent in Wales
Wales defies British healthcare norms with a groundbreaking Health Bill while England's £86,000 care cost cap crumbles away. What changed?
20 Best Cruise T-Shirt Designs You Will Love
Browse these 20 cruise t-shirt designs that will transform your vacation style and make you the talk of every port.
Should You Sell Your Garage Property As-Is? Lessons from Fort Worth
Feet Swelling Causes - An Expert Guide
Common foot swelling may seem harmless, but these hidden causes could reveal serious health concerns you shouldn't ignore.
5 Amazing Black and White Kitchen Ideas You Need to See
Never settle for a dull kitchen when these stunning black and white designs can transform your space into a masterpiece.
10 Chic Ideas for Black Christmas Tree Decor and a Sleek Holiday Look
Unlock your black Christmas tree's potential with these sophisticated decorating themes that transform holiday tradition into modern elegance.
10 Creative Ideas for Easter Party Decor
Infuse your Easter celebration with charming DIY decor ideas that transform ordinary spaces into a whimsical spring wonderland.
How To Get Elderly Walking Again - An Expert Guide
Need help getting your elderly loved one back on their feet? Discover proven techniques for safely restoring mobility and independence.
5 Simple Tips To Help You Get Out Of Bed
Need help dragging yourself out of bed? These scientifically-proven morning hacks will transform your wake-up routine forever.
Pickleball for Seniors: The Ultimate Guide For 2025
With essential tips on gear, rules, and safety, this expert guide reveals how pickleball can transform your active lifestyle—discover the secrets inside!
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Latest articles
Early Signs and Symptoms of Dementia (2026)
Dementia usually starts gradually, and early signs are easy to mistake for normal ageing. Here's what to look for, and what to do if you're worried about someone.
The Types of Dementia Explained (2026)
Alzheimer's, vascular, mixed, Lewy body and frontotemporal dementia — what each one is, how common it is, and how the symptoms differ.
The Stages of Dementia: What to Expect (2026)
Dementia usually moves through early, middle and late stages, each with different needs. Here's what typically changes, and how to plan care ahead of a crisis.
When Should Someone with Dementia Move into a Care Home? (2026)
There's rarely one clear moment to decide on dementia care. Here are the signs worth watching for, how to compare your options, and how to plan a calmer move.
Caring for Someone with Dementia: How to Cope (2026)
Practical ways to support someone with dementia day to day — and, just as importantly, how to protect your own health and get help before you reach breaking point.
Sundowning and Dementia: How to Manage It (2026)
Sundowning brings confusion or distress in the late afternoon and evening. Here's why it happens and what genuinely helps, at home or in a care home.
How to Talk to Someone Living with Dementia (2026)
Dementia can make words harder to find and follow. Small, practical changes to how you talk can keep the connection warm, even when the words themselves become unreliable.
Hearing Loss and Dementia: A Connection You Can’t Afford to “Miss”
Untreated hearing loss is one of the modifiable risk factors for dementia identified by researchers. Here's what that means in practice, and what to do about it.
Exploring the Different Stages of Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease develops gradually and differently for everyone. Here's what tends to happen at each stage, and how to plan ahead.
Age Regression in Seniors: Facts & Support Options In 2025!
When an older relative starts acting or talking much younger than their years, it's usually a sign of something treatable or manageable — not a mystery. Here's what's really going on, and what to do next.
Understanding End of Life Care for Dementia Patients
A clear, practical guide to end-of-life care for people with dementia in the UK — what to expect, the choices available, and how to plan ahead.