Tips For Making The Transition To Assisted Living Easier For Your Parent

As you begin working on preparing for your parent's move to an assisted living community, you might want to start thinking about ways to make this transition a little easier and smoother for your parent. There are many different things you can do to help with this, and here are some ideas you could consider using to help with this.

Speak positively about the move

The first thing to keep in mind is that your attitude about the move could potentially shape and affect your parent's attitude. Therefore, it is absolutely vital for you to stay positive when discussing the move. Anytime it is brought up, bring up the good things about it and try to help your parent feel like this is the best option and a good option. By talking like this and staying positive, your parent may have a better chance to also think positively about moving to an assisted living community, because it may be a great choice for him or her.

Bring your parent's things there

A lot of assisted living communities allow residents to furnish their own units. If this is the case, you should carefully help your parent select what items to bring along to the unit, and you could help set it all up. If your parent cannot bring his or her own furniture, you will still be able to bring personal items that are important and special to your parent. Having things your parent is familiar with will likely help him or her feel more at home from the start.

Celebrate when you move in

It is also a good idea to plan a celebration for your parent after getting moved in. You could host a small open house at the unit, or you could take your parent out for dinner and invite close relatives to the get together. Celebrating this event may also help your parent feel better about it.

Visit often

Finally, you should realize that moving is a big deal to a senior, and your parent will likely be happiest if he or she sees you a lot. Because of this, plan to visit your parent often and stay for several hours each time you visit.

These are just some ideas you could use to help your parent feel more comfortable during and after this move. If you have questions, talk to someone from a senior care community in your area.