Ways to Ensure Your Parents are Celebrating Their Senior Living Lifestyle

Posted By on February 1, 2022

Moving to a senior living community is undoubtedly a significant change—not only in your parents’ lives but in yours. Even if your parent(s) were willing (and even excited) about moving to a senior living lifestyle, it could be a difficult transition, and it often takes time to settle in and adjust.

Senior living communities, like HarborChase, are designed to enhance an individual’s retirement lifestyle by offering more activities, amenities, and services than one might find at home. When utilized fully, these communities create a vibrant, exciting, and dynamic lifestyle for older adults. However, if these amenities are not taken advantage of, senior living residents can miss out on a lot. 

If your parent has just moved into an independent senior living community, you might be wondering if they are taking advantage of everything the community has to offer. HarborChase Senior Living is dedicated to helping individuals and families celebrate senior living, so we are looking at ways to ensure your parents truly celebrate the senior living lifestyle! 

1. Make Sure It’s the Right Time

Before your parent even moves into a senior living community, you want to make sure it’s the appropriate decision and the right time for them. Depending on their physical needs and personal desires, they may be best suited for either independent living or assisted living. 

Whatever lifestyle they choose, what’s most important is that everyone in the family is on the same page. That way, when your parent or parents are excited about moving, rather than dreading it, they will be more likely to take advantage of and enjoy their new life. 

2. Find the Right Community

A key factor in ensuring your parents genuinely celebrate senior living is choosing the right community. After all, they can’t make the most of their retirement in a community that does not provide options to do so.

Look for communities that meet the majority of your parents’ needs—whether that be stand-alone homes, an indoor pool, close to the ocean, or multiple dining options. When you ensure that your parent is getting everything they want and need, you can all but guarantee that they will enjoy their new life! 

3. Visit, But Not Too Often

When your parent moves into an independent senior living or assisted living community, it can be tempting to visit them regularly. And while a visit once a month can be a great chance to catch up, visiting too often can suppress their independence and prevent them from feeling free and open to trying new things in the community. Without you visiting as much, they will have the opportunity to truly come into their own and create a lifestyle they choose. 

4. Create a Senior Living To-Do List

If you’re worried about your parent sticking to themselves or not taking advantage of everything the community has to offer, try making it a fun challenge for them! Together, come up with a list of things they want to do while living in the community. 

  • Do they want to finally learn poker?
  • Challenge themselves to take a fitness class every day?
  • Meet someone from a different country? 

If you write these down as their goals for senior living, you can rest assured knowing that they’ll be trying new things and meeting new people. 

5. Get to Know the Associates

Getting to know the associates at the senior living community is a great way to keep up with your parent’s health and wellness without stifling them. In addition to caregivers, introduce yourself to the Life Enrichment Team, Chefs, and Executive Directors. Since they see your parents every day, they will be able to offer better insight into how they are truly faring. 

6. Trust the Process

It can be easy to worry about your parent in their new home—are they making friends? Are they being treated with respect? Do they like the food? It’s natural to want to know what’s going on and if everything is okay to ensure you made the right decision. 

Sometimes, though, it’s best to sit back and trust the process. Trust your parents; trust the community. It can take a few weeks or even a few months to adjust, but in the end, you simply have to know that your parent is in a welcoming, safe, and exciting environment that will help them live life to the fullest. 

Celebrating Senior Living at HarborChase

We know that the transition to senior living can be overwhelming and emotional—for not just the person moving but for their entire family. There is a lot of uncertainty about how they will fit in, whether or not they’ll make friends, and if they’ll make the most of their new lifestyle. 

At HarborChase, our independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities are designed to make life as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Through inviting and modern spaces, engaging activities, world-class hospitality, and more, we create an experience that celebrates senior living every day. We also work closely with residents’ physicians and family members to ensure their unique needs and preferences are met. Here, every day is full of new opportunities and celebrations. 

We invite you to visit our website to discover more about our independent senior living communities!

 

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