How To Help Your Parent With The Transition To An Assisted Living

When the time comes that you have to put your parent into an assisted living, you will likely feel a mixture of conflicting emotions. You might feel guilty or sad. However, one way you can keep your mind off of things is by helping your parent move into his or her assisted living and make the transition smoothly.Here are some actions that you can take.

1. Listen and Spend Time Apart

Set up a regular time and date to call your parent if he or she is too far away to visit or tell your parent that you are going to visit within a week or two. This will give you and your parent a chance to separate, which is helpful because it will make it easier for your parent to force himself or herself to make friends, but will also allow your parent to know that you are still there for him or her. When you visit or call, listen to all of your parent's complaints. If he or she did not want to move to the assisted living facility, chances are good that he or she will have a lot of complaints. Make sure that you listen and be supportive. Do not offer solutions unless your parent requests them.

2. Send in Items to Share

When you visit your parent, ask them what the other residents are doing to keep busy. If the other residents are crocheting, then send materials and how-to instruction manuals. If the other residents are really into watching John Wayne movies, send in a DVD collection. Make sure that you send in items that the other residents would enjoy in order to help your parent make friends and go into new social situations confident that he or she will receive positive attention.

3. Help Decorate

Finally, you can help your parent decorate his or her apartment. If you are moving your parent into the assisted living around the holiday season, make sure that you help them decorate with Christmas decorations in order to help him or her feel like the apartment is home. If it's not around the holiday season, ask your parent what kinds of knick-knacks and other family memorabilia that he or she would like for the apartment and make sure that you bring it.

For more information about how you can help your parent make the transition to assisted living, talk to the assisted living staff at a facility such as Kendal At Lexington.

Organization-wise, the first section should probably be entitled "Listen and Spend Time Apart." 

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