As your parent ages, they begin to require more and more help with their daily living tasks, transportation, and the like. While you try to take care of them yourself as much as possible, you also have your children, career, and personal life to take care of and attend to at the same time. As such, there comes a time when you and your parent will have to make the transition from their home to an assisted living facility. This transition can be difficult for both you and your parent to deal with. However, there are steps you can take to make this situation easier. 

Do Not Rush The Transition

When you and your parent decide that assisted living care is the best option for them, you may want to begin the moving process right away. You begin researching the best assisted living facilities in the area and may even try to schedule tours and meetings. 

However, by jumping right in, you may overwhelm your parent and cause them to feel stress, anxiety, and even rejection. The rush that you seem to be in may make your parent feel like you are tired of them and want to unburden yourself. Though you know this is not the case, you will want to take a step back and proceed at a pace that is comfortable for your parent. 

Additionally, you may be rushing through the process to try to avoid the emotions you are feeling about the situation. You may feel guilty that you cannot provide your parent with the care and assistance they need, or sad that they will no longer be in the home you grew up in, or any mixture of positive and negative emotions that you do not want to deal with. However, rushing through the process will not help, and eventually you will have to deal with your feelings. It is better to do so sooner rather than later. 

Let Your Parent Make The Decisions

In your attempts to help your parent find an assisted living facility, you may end up essentially stepping on their toes. For example, when you go on tours of facilities together and try to select an assisted living home, you and your parent may not agree on which location is the best. And while you have your parent's best interest at heart, you are not the one moving. You need to allow your parent to maintain their autonomy and to make the final assisted living decision for themselves.

Additionally, when it comes time to pack up the house, the process may be difficult. Your parent will be forced to go through their lifelong possessions and decide what to take with them, what to give to family, and what to get rid of entirely. This can be emotionally challenging. As such, take a step back and allow them to process. Do not take over and grab items for yourself or to throw items out unless your parent asks you to do so. They are still in charge of their life and possessions and do not want to feel as if their independence is being taken away.

If you keep these coping mechanisms in mind, you will help to make the transition to assisted living easier for yourself and for your parent. So, be sure that you take care of both yourself and your parent through this challenging and life-altering time. For more information, contact an assisted living facility like Cokato Charitable Trust - Cokato Manor.

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