Easing The Elderly Into Adult Day Care

Health & Medical Blog

Adult day care is an alternative elderly care service that keeps your parents active and engaged mentally and physically during the day and lets them return to your home in the early afternoon. However, many elderly people will resist any kind of care activities for a variety of reasons. That's why it's important to ease these stubborn resisters into adult day care activities.

Talk to Your Loved One

First of all, sit down with your parents and discuss why adult day care would be a good option for them. There's a few tips you should consider when discussing any kind of care with your parents. They include:

  • Being honest, forthright and respectful
  • Choosing a discussion time when your parents are relaxed and in a good mood
  • Discussing day care activities they would enjoy, such as painting or day trips
  • Bringing in family members for support
  • Staying persistent

If you follow these tips, your parents are more likely to open up to your suggestions and listen to what you have to say.

Avoid the Term "Day Care"

"Day care" is something of a loaded term: an online search of "day care activities" brings back dozens of pages devoted to child day care. As a result, your parent may simply resist adult day care because the term makes them feel infantile.

Instead of the words "day care," use terms like club, activity center or even social group. These terms aren't loaded with negative connotation and may make your parent feel well socialized and in full control of their life.

Go With Them

Don't just drop your parents off and split the first time they attend adult day care activities: stay with them for a few hours and participate. Having a loved one near them can ease their tension and help them open up to new people in a more relaxed state.

However, much like children, you can't let them become dependent on your presence. A few visits should be more than enough to get them acquainted with their activities and engaged with those around them.

Be Consistent and Persistent

Once your parents have attended a few days of adult day care, you may think they are fully acclimated. That may be the case, but often, elderly adult day care recipients can simply reject adult day care later for unknown reasons.

While you can't force your parents to do something they don't want to do, you should still be consistent and persistent on their attendance. Sit down and try to find out why they don't want to go. These reasons often consist of:

  • Boredom with activities
  • Personality clashes
  • Feeling childish
  • Inability to perform activities

Now that you know how to ease your parents into adult day care, there's no reason to avoid this useful care option. It can help give you a break from your own care activities while creating a busy social life for your parents in their waning years. Talk to some people like Independent Days Adult Care Center, Inc. for more information.

Share

19 February 2015

Managing Chronic Heartburn: Solutions And Tips

As I've gotten older, I've found that my body is less able to tolerate spicy, greasy, and heavy foods. While I never used to struggle with heartburn, it's become a common occurrence. I spent a lot of time talking with my doctor and reading about all kinds of heartburn relief options. After trying a lot of different options, I finally found that there are a few things that work exceptionally well. I created this site to journal my experience with chronic heartburn and the treatment options that I've tried. I hope that it helps you if you're struggling with heartburn problems as well.