By Bob Gregory
If you have an elderly parent in a Senior Facility such as
an Assisted Living Facility or a Nursing Home, you already know how important
it is to visit regularly. I hope you
also realize how much it will mean to your elder parent for you to bring along
the grandchildren. Visiting an elderly
parent in a Senior Facility can be challenging with children, especially with
young children. Most all Senior
Facilities welcome well-behaved children and encourage parents to bring them
along. Children provide such joy to the
elderly and it is a reminder that part of each of us lives on through our
heirs.
There are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and
your children for a visit to the Senior Facility. Hopefully these tips will make your visit
enjoyable for your parent, yourself and your children—not to mention the other
residents.
Tips for taking your
children to a Senior Facility:
- I hope you had a discussion with your children about why their grandparent(s) moved to a Senior Facility prior to the move. If not, now is the time to explain why they moved and give them a brief definition that describes the Senior Facility. Be sure and emphasize the benefits of the Senior Facility for their grandparent(s).
- Discuss with your children
what they will see at the Senior Facility.
This discussion needs to be tailored to the type facility as there
are differences in Independent Living, Assisted Living Facilities and
Nursing Homes. You have been to
visit your parent so you should be able to give them a good
description. If your parent is in a
Nursing Home, you need to prepare your children to see elderly in
wheelchairs, hospital beds and possibly with medical apparatus.
Matti (Photo credit: Wikipedia) - Plan your trip to coordinate with the best time of day for your elderly parent and your children as well. If you have young children, you know how important timing naps, snacks and meals can be to having a well behaved child. You also want to make sure your parent is up and alert during the visit.
- Discuss the visit with the caregivers. They will be happy to tell you the best time to visit to coordinate with activities or snacks that your children can participate in along with their grandparent.
- Remind your children to be polite and respectful. Children are often very honest and speak their minds—call it as they see it! You may want to rein that in a bit so as not to offend any resident should your children point out sights they are not used to seeing.
- Come bearing gifts. Presents are a great way to break the ice and children love to receive praise for gifts they make or give. Encourage your children to make a gift, card or draw a picture. These are always appreciated by grandparents.
- Make the first trip a short trip. Don’t try to do too much in the first trip. A short visit to say hello and drop off a goodie basket or a small gift will suffice. This will give your children an opportunity to size up the place without being overwhelmed.
Be sure and discuss the trip with your children when you
return home. Get their impressions of
the facility and ask them how they enjoyed the visit. Don’t be alarmed if they have negative
comments; it is their opinion. If they
have questions, answer them honestly and give explanations. Reinforce how much the visit meant to their
grandparent(s) and encourage them to make another trip with you in the
future. Point out the positive behaviors
they displayed during the visit and be sure and thank them for going with
you. I would also suggest picking up a
thank you note for your parent to send to your children for visiting. This will impress upon your children how much
their grandparent(s) valued their visit.
I would also suggest you read my earlier post, Need guidance for visiting
your elderly parent in a Senior Facility? as some of those tips apply as well! http://goo.gl/uxiSR
If you find you need an Assisted Living Facility, Nursing
Home or any other type of Senior Facility, I hope you will consider www.seniorfacilityfinder.com.
If you would like to contribute your thoughts and ideas,
please leave them in our comment section. We want to hear them. Helping people
care for themselves or their loved ones is what we care about.
We look forward to reading yours.
Bob Gregory is an advocate
for Seniors and is one of the founders of www.seniorfacilityfinder.com. At SeniorFacilityFinder.com, we are dedicated
to helping families get the Elder Care help they need without having to provide
their personal information! If find you need an assisted living facility or
other type of senior facility, please consider www.seniorfacilityfinder.com
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