Tips To Help Your Parent's Move To Assisted Living Easier On Him Or Her
The first step in moving a parent to an assisted living facility is convincing him or her to do so, and this is often one of the hardest steps to complete. Once you do this, though, you can begin helping your parent plan this move, and there are several things you can do that may help this transition run smoother and easier on your parent. Here are some ideas you might want to use to accomplish this.
Store your parent's belongings instead of getting rid of them
When a person moves to assisted living, it means that he or she will be permanently leaving the house he or she lives in. This is a traumatizing event for many seniors, and one thing that might worry your parent is thinking about what will happen to all of his or her things. If your parent does not want to part with everything he or she owns, offer to store the things in a storage unit or in your garage. By doing this, your parent may feel better about the move, simply because he or she will know that you are not getting rid of all the things from the house.
Bring your parent's favorite items with
One good thing about assisted living is that it offers private rooms for people to move into, and this means that they can bring some of their own things with them when they move. If you can bring your parent's favorite chair, coffee mug, and photos, it can help your parent feel more comfortable after moving in. While you cannot bring everything, you can bring some items, and you should bring family photos and other types of personal effects to put up in the room he or she will be staying in.
Handle as much as possible on your own
A third idea to keep in mind is that you should aim to handle as much of the transition on your own as possible. While you should not exclude your parent from the decision-making process in this, seniors often feel overwhelmed when forced with making decisions on the spot. If you can handle most of the tasks on your own, it could relieve the pressure your parent feels when trying to make this move. The move itself will be a lot on your parent, so helping him or her with all the other tasks could make this a lot easier and less stressful for him or her.
If you are interested in finding out more about the services and accommodations at assisted living facilities, contact a facility in your city today.