Keeping our Aging Parents Feeling Young

When deciding to put your loved one in an assisted care facility there are many questions, the main one being what the benefits are. There are benefits for both yourself and your loved one. The main benefit is piece of mind for yourself and your family. Knowing that your aging parents are in a safe environment and is being taken care of is huge. While there are benefits for you let’s focus on the benefits for your loved one. One of the main benefits of assisted living is improving your loved one’s life. The ways assisted care facilities do this is through social connections, healthy meals, and keeping them busy.

For seniors developing social connections is important, these social connections help them feel less alone. When I worked in an assisted living most our residents loved the activities we held, the favorite was bingo. It gave the residents time to get together and enjoy others company. Most seniors live alone and being alone and isolated can take a toll on one’s mental health, living in an assisted care facility can help that.

Another benefit to an assisted care facility is making sure the residents are getting healthy meals. Many senior citizens suffer from malnutrition whether that be from not being able to afford to buy healthy meals or struggling to make meals for just themselves. There are programs like Meals on Wheels and other senior meal services, but those services usually only provide one meal per day. At an assisted care facility residents are offered three balanced meals a day.

Another benefit to an assisted care facility is keeping them busy and their minds sharp. This is done by offering activities such as physical activity, movies, games, reading, art, and chapel. Offering physical activities help keep residents healthy and active. These activities will help keep residents strong, give them more energy, increase gross motor skills, and it can help improve their mental health. Games, art, and reading can help residents with cognition, fine motor skills, and memory. Chapel may not be important to all the residents but to the ones that religion is important it allows them access to be able to worship somewhere accessible.

Contact us today at Mayberry Gardens.  We are happy to answer any questions you may have.