Your senior loved one may get more set in his or her ways with age. Seniors sometimes cause themselves to become isolated when they suddenly stop trying to do new things or meet new people. While your loved one may balk at the idea of going to a party, there are some easy ways to incorporate socialization into his or her day.
Surprise Them with Special Events
This strategy should be used with the utmost respect for your loved one’s personality, but it may help to spring a social activity on him or her. If your loved one is fairly reserved, skip having a huge surprise party at his or her house. Instead, consider purchasing tickets to a dance or play you can attend together. Your loved one will be able to mingle with other people as he or she pleases while getting the benefits of being out in public.
Work Social Rituals into Their Routines
Some seniors need things to go according to their plans. Your loved one may be more comfortable seeing the same visitor each week. A professional caregiver can drop by on a regular basis so your loved one comes to accept that his or her social opportunity arrives like clockwork. Being prepared helps your loved one come up with things to do during the visits. Even working together around the house doing things such as light housekeeping can help your loved one enjoy social moments.
For families living in Opelika, respite care can be a wonderful solution when their aging loved ones need companionship and socialization a few hours a week or just need minor assistance with daily household tasks. At Home Care Assistance, we thrive on helping seniors maintain their independence while living in the comfort of home.
Help Them Find Things to Talk About
Your loved one may simply feel completely out of his or her element in certain social situations. This may be especially true if your parent is retired and spends the majority of his or her time at home.
Before an event, help your loved one come up with a few topics. For instance, your parent might want to bring up the latest round of strange weather or ask other people about their hobbies. If your loved one has memory loss or language challenges, this simple step may provide confidence when people approach him or her to talk.
A professional home caregiver can be a wonderful conversation partner for your older parent. At-home care agencies can be a great boon to seniors. With the help of the caregivers at Home Care Assistance, your aging loved one can lead a happier and healthier life. We offer a revolutionary program called the Balanced Care Method, which encourages seniors to eat nutritious foods, exercise and socialize regularly, and focus on other lifestyle factors that increase life expectancy.
Set Them Up with Online Social Media Accounts
Socialization doesn’t always require in-person communication. Your loved one can also socialize online. This strategy works great for seniors who are housebound due to health issues. Keep things simple by setting your loved one up on one social media platform. Then walk your parent through the steps to send messages and post his or her own comments.
Offer to Go with Them to Community Gatherings
Stepping into a room full of people alone is intimidating for most younger adults. Just imagine what that might feel like if you have health challenges such as needing to use a mobility device. Offer to accompany your loved one to social events, or arrange for a caregiver to go with him or her so someone will be there to assist your parent no matter what happens. Your loved one will also have someone to share in the excitement as he or she makes new friends or renews relationships with old social contacts.
Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of senior home care. Opelika families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet their elderly loved ones’ unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. To learn more about our premier in-home care plans, call us at (334) 744-7100 today.