It can be hard for people who previously lived independent lives to move into a care home. That’s not because they are awful places to be – many are wonderful – but as with any big life change, it will be emotional. As their loved one, it is your job to help your senior family member settle into a new care home in the best way you can, ensuring they are happy and comfortable in their new home.
It can be hard to do this if you are feeling conflicted about what is happening or if you find that your family member’s emotions are affecting you, but it’s crucial you try your best to help them settle in; it will benefit everyone in the process. Here are some things you can do to make the situation an easier one.
Stay Positive
When you have found the ideal care home from care homes by signature, you can feel good about the decision you and your loved one have made about where they are going to live. You will have spent a lot of time working out where they should be living and what is important for them in terms of their health and wellbeing, and that research will have paid off.
That doesn’t mean the move itself will be easy, however. If you want your loved one to settle in more easily, one thing you must do is to be positive yourself. If you show that you are unhappy about something or emotional or mention anything negative, that will transfer to your family member, and they will feel negative too. Stay positive, and that will help others stay positive.
Make Their Room A Home
Something else that will definitely help your loved one feel more at home and settled in when they move into a care home is if you can make their room feel comfortable. Ideally, you’ll want to create a real ‘home from home’ as this will help even those who have cognitive issues feel more at ease. For those who are simply nervous about moving to somewhere new, seeing their treasured belongings set out for them, seeing their clothes in the closet, seeing their own bedding on the bed, and so on, will help them to feel a lot happier.
You can start by bringing special items from home and either setting up the room in advance of arriving or helping them make it look just how they want to. If you’re able to decorate the room itself, try using the same color of paint or wallpaper pattern as they are used to. If things are familiar, this will all help to settle them in better.
Visit Often
Many seniors can be worried about being moved to a care home and then left there by themselves. They worry that they will never see their family members, and this can actually cause a lot of trauma and conditions such as depression and physical problems like heart disease.
If your loved one is moving to a care home, the best thing you can do to help make them feel better about it is to visit them as much as possible. It’s even better if you can take them out and about. Spend time with your family member and show them that just because they have moved out of their home for whatever reasons it became necessary, they have not been forgotten by you or any of their family.
