A home care nurse is speaking with the adult child of a client who has Alzheimer’s disease and is having difficulty managing their parent's wandering behavior at night. The nurse should instruct the client's child to take which of the following actions?

Introduction: Managing wandering in Alzheimer's disease requires safety-oriented environmental modifications that prevent egress while avoiding the use of physical or chemical restraints that increase the risk of falls and injury. A. Installing locks at the tops of doors is an effective safety measure. Clients with Alzheimer's often lose their peripheral vision and tend to look downward; therefore, placing locks out of the direct line of sight can prevent them from successfully opening doors and wandering outside the home. B. Administering phenobarbital, a potent barbiturate, is highly inappropriate for an elderly client with dementia. Barbiturates carry a high risk of over-sedation, respiratory depression, and increased confusion (paradoxical agitation). Such medications significantly increase the risk of falls and are generally avoided in the geriatric population. C. Encouraging physical activity in the evening can be counterproductive and may trigger or worsen "sundowning" behavior. High levels of activity late in the day can overstimulate the client and interfere with their ability to settle for sleep, potentially leading to increased nocturnal restlessness and wandering. D. Restraining a client at bedtime in a home setting is dangerous and unethical. Physical restraints can lead to serious injury, strangulation, or increased agitation as the client attempts to free themselves. The focus should always be on environmental safety and behavioral interventions rather than physical immobilization.