Assisted living can be a touchy subject to approach, making it an intimidating process to bring it up around your loved ones. Enough tiptoeing around the subject, it’s time to do the right thing for your aging loved one: Get the conversation started. Read on to learn some tips you can use when talking about assisted living with your elderly loved one.
Do Your Research
Being well-informed will help you communicate to your loved one that you are not only serious about your suggestion for them to transition to assisted living, but also that you genuinely care about their wellbeing in the future. Researching the various aspects of senior living will make your suggestion much more convincing. These aspects include:
- Benefits of senior living
- The senior living community lifestyle
- Senior living options
When you know your stuff, you can deliver your points more confidently and persuade your loved one easily.
Start the Conversation Early
The conversation about assisted living is a long, ongoing one. There’s no need to rush to any conclusion, and instead, you should be keeping the conversation open. By keeping the conversation open, you can revisit it on another day instead of being overly persistent.
Rather than a decision, make it a discussion instead. Starting the conversation about assisted living early can also help give your loved ones emotional space to understand what they want for themselves.
Listen to Their Feedback
As the assisted living situation is a discussion, the communication between you and your loved one has to be a two-way street. As the individual possibly entering assisted living, your loved one will naturally have some concerns about it: cost, location, the list goes on. The most effective thing you can do would be to understand and respect those concerns.
Not only does it benefit your loved one by letting their opinion be heard, but it also benefits you. After identifying your loved one’s worries, you learn how to navigate the conversation in a more appealing way to your loved one. By being able to address your loved one’s concerns, you can make your suggestion even more persuasive.
Keep Their Health Status in Mind
Does your loved one have a chronic medical condition? You’re not alone. Aging-associated conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or dementia are common in the elderly. These diseases can severely hinder your loved one’s lifestyle and independence. Even if your loved one may not show any signs of age-related diseases yet, their risk of contracting any increases with every passing year.
Assisted living platforms provide functional benefits for older adults and caretakers such as yourself. This allows your loved one to enjoy a maintained quality of life while removing the burden from yourself as a caregiver. Hence, this is another consideration that you should voice out to your loved one.
Assisted Living at TerraBella Summerville
Are you still looking around for senior living options for your loved one? Look no further than TerraBella Senior Living. TerraBella Summerville is a retirement community in a stylish, resort-style environment, with a dedicated team of staff providing care. Learn more about our senior living options today.
