Living alone is an option for many seniors, but it gets pretty lonely and, most of the time, unsafe. There's a need for recreational activities to keep them fit, healthy and happy, and also the need for careful management of their health conditions. Many seniors are understandably hesitant to go to senior living facilities, citing various fears and doubts.
Are you struggling to get your parents to agree to move to a senior living facility? Here are some tips that could help them understand the benefits:
Tell them about the sympathetic caregivers in senior living facilities
Your loved ones may be hesitant about going to senior living facilities, daunted at the prospect of sharing space and having to rely on so many strangers. Explain to your loved ones that the situation isn’t as bad as they feared. Rather, in a senior living facility, they’ll get specialized care from professionals selected for their skills and knowledge and for natural sympathy and experience with seniors of various conditions.
Explain the importance of assistance with daily activities
Let your parents understand that they need assistance with many simple day-to-day activities, which get more and more challenging for them to handle alone as the years pass by.
Simple activities such as bathing, clothing, medication management, and preparation of their meals are pretty burdensome at their age. Getting them into a senior living facility will ensure they get personal assistants to handle all these and more. It's generally to improve their comfort, which you aim for when registering them at a living facility.
Explain that they’ll enjoy the company of their peers
Secondly, they get to mingle with their peers and other senior citizens from their generation who share a common view of things. This means they get to make new friends, meet new people and never have to stay alone. Even at their age, this could be pretty exciting. Having someone to talk to is also quite therapeutic and does wonders in keeping the mind healthy, another big bonus for them.
At times, there's a certain barrier between what older people want to talk about and what the younger generation wants to hear or is conversant with. Being amongst their peers eases this barrier, and things could be fun for them too.
Describe the home-like setting of senior living facilities
Another thing to be considered is the homelike environment of the senior living facilities. Compared to what most people think, senior living facilities aren't like hospitals or schools, with everything looking formal and quite strange. Instead, senior living facilities are designed to give their inhabitants more comfort and a feeling of home.
Explain how much privacy they’ll get in senior living facilities
Finally, they will enjoy their privacy as they get private rooms. This gives them a chance to get some alone time whenever they please. There is also a range of recreational activities which they can choose from.
Activities such as gardening, reading, crosswords, cards, knitting, dancing, and music are available, allowing them the choice of which to take as a hobby. To entirely win them over, let them understand it's not an exile from your lives. They still get to see you during visits which should be as frequent as possible. Also, let them know you'd write them letters and give them many phone calls.
If you decide to leave your home, looking for the right senior living community can be a long and overwhelming process. We are hear to help!
Welcome Home Senior Services & Placement Co. can help you find the best community to fit your needs and budget in the Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, and Lee Counties. Contact us today to take the first step toward the next chapter in your life.