If you’ve started researching senior living communities for your loved one, you’ve already come across the benefits, such as delicious meals, new friendships, a full calendar of activities, and a welcoming, vibrant environment. But even with the premium amenities, a low-maintenance lifestyle, and all the other benefits of choosing independent living, many older adults are still hesitant about moving to senior living.
There are several emotional and financial reasons for this hesitancy. Moving is overwhelming, and change can be scary. They may worry about the cost or believe moving means they are losing their independence. You may feel frustrated or anxious that your family member isn’t as enthusiastic about the idea of a senior living community as you are. Still, it’s important to take a step back, empathize with their concerns, and listen.
How to Approach the Subject
Start by gently discussing daily challenges with your parent rather than pushing them toward senior living. Approach the topic with sensitivity, ensuring you respect their role as your parent. Ask them about their biggest challenges and how you can support them.
Empathize with these challenges and discuss the range of practical solutions together. The need for independent senior living is most clear when your parent is struggling with housekeeping and cooking or has lost a spouse and is isolated.
What to Do When Your Parent Is Hesitant About Independent Senior Living
Encouraging your parent to consider independent senior living isn’t something that will happen overnight. To help you get started, we’ve compiled the following tips on how to proceed when your parent is reluctant:
1. Focus on the positives.
An important point to continually reinforce is the numerous financial and practical benefits of selling their home and moving to a senior living community. A few of the advantages of choosing senior living include a low-maintenance lifestyle, delectable dining, socialization opportunities, wellness programs, reduced responsibilities, and more. It’s incredibly difficult to provide all of these amenities and then some while taking care of senior parents on your own or with limited assistance.
Here are some of the pros of opting for a senior living community:
- Forgo mortgage payments, property taxes, and homeowner’s insurance.
- Avoid performing regular structural or outdoor maintenance.
- Make new friends and be with others in similar situations.
- Access reliable and safe modes of transportation.
- Spend less time managing and balancing care needs.
Additionally, the price of independent living covers more than just rent. Costs such as utilities, entertainment, and maintenance are included in monthly fees for independent living, whereas all of these costs are generally separate when aging in place. Plus, the set monthly fees one pays for senior living offer an inclusive and predictable expense, while monthly expenses for living at home widely fluctuate. You can always use our senior living cost calculator to help your loved one get a better idea of their monthly expenses and compare lifestyle options.
2. Seek advice.
Taking care of senior parents isn’t a responsibility you alone carry. Peers, neighbors, and experts alike have positive experiences and advice to share regarding senior living. Help your parent understand the long-term implications of aging in a home versus aging in place in a senior living community by leveraging others’ knowledge.
Hearing from professionals, other family members, or friends in similar situations can be influential. Try talking to friends or other people they know who live in an independent living community to get a firsthand perspective of the benefits of independent senior living.
3. Explore senior living communities.
There are plenty of independent senior living options available, and each offers something different. To ensure your parent selects the best option for them—one that aligns with their lifestyle and ensures they can enjoy their retirement in the way that they want—it’s essential to schedule tours of various senior living communities. This enables your parent to see the amenities and lifestyle firsthand, which may help to ease their worries. Don’t forget to take this opportunity to ask questions.
4. Plan for the future.
Your parent may do well on their own right now, but tasks such as home maintenance, chores, and other jobs may become more difficult in the future. These tasks are taken care of in independent living. If your family member ever needs additional support at a Bethesda community, our Senior Support Solutions help ensure they still maintain their independence. Such services are designed to provide mobility support and health-monitoring devices that can help anticipate care needs.
If you’re taking care of senior parents, sit down with them and assess their needs, including assistance they may require, social needs, and finances, and how those requirements may change over time. Get them excited about independent senior living by talking about the advantages and amenities and what they would want in their community. Reassure them that independent living communities ensure residents stay safe through features such as well-lit walkways, designated parking, and around-the-clock staff availability.
For More Guidance on Taking Care of Senior Parents
Your parent’s decision on whether or not to move to a senior living community is ultimately their own. However, it’s your responsibility as their advocate and loved one to present them with all of their viable options and to offer your opinion on what you believe is best for them. From there, it helps to be prepared with the knowledge necessary to help them make the most informed choice.
To access additional resources for beginning your journey, download our full senior living readiness bundle.
