Posts Tagged ‘mom is in assisted living’

Celebrating Mother’s Day, birthdays or any other special day in assisted living can be a bit of a challenge, depending on mom’s mobility. If you can take her out to brunch, that’s probably the best way to celebrate with her: by spending some time with her and taking her out to enjoy some of her favorite foods. If you’re celebrating in assisted living, we have some tips for you.

Bring the Whole Family

If you have kids, bring them to visit mom because you know she always loves spending time with the grandkids. If you don’t have kids of your own, but you have siblings and/or cousins, try to get as many of them to come visit with you as possible. Despite our best efforts, assisted living can sometimes be a lonely place and it’s easy for residents to feel isolated, so remind mom how much the whole family loves her by bringing everyone.

If mom gets overwhelmed easily, try to schedule with your family so everyone gets to spend a little time with her throughout the day (or weekend) without all crowding around her at once. Space out your visits so she has time to rest in between.

Update Her Technology

If you can’t be there in person, try to find ways to make it feel like you’re there with her. Technology has gotten more and more user friendly so even your least tech-savvy mom can figure out how to operate a tablet so they can FaceTime with you.

If it’s gift ideas you’re looking for, digital photo frames are always a hit. Load them up with photos of your family so she can always keep you near. If she’s done some traveling in her time and you have access to photos from her trips, you can load those onto the digital photo frame to remind her of the adventures she’s had. Most digital photo frames hold hundreds of photos, so you don’t have to pick and choose.

If mom has dementia or Alzheimer’s, photos and other visual aids can help stimulate her memory, which is a nice bonus.

There’s an App for That

In other cases, just taking the time to download some apps onto mom’s phone and/or tablet can pay off all year long. Whether it’s showing her how to use Spotify to listen to her favorite music, or downloading movies or audiobooks from your local library, you can give her more of the things she loves without paying a dime.

Another free app you’ll love is a locator mobile app. You can install it on her phone and it will give you alerts when she’s leaving and coming back to the assisted living community so you can have peace of mind knowing she’s not wandering off in the middle of the night. Life360 is a great app that does this for you.

Another way technology can help out is by helping her keep track of the items she uses most. Products like the Esky Wireless RF Item Locator offer multiple receivers and a color-coded remote to help you keep track of everything from your keys to your eyeglasses case. It’s great for moms with dementia or Alzheimer’s, but even the healthiest among us still lose our keys every now and then, which makes this the perfect gift for everyone.

At Stillwater Senior Living, we have activities to keep our residents active all year long. Reach out now to learn more about all the activities we have planned this month.

Here at Stillwater Senior Living, we treat our residents like family. Our apartments include studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom suites, and we are pet friendly. They are designed with security features, maximum accessibility, and include walk-out patois with a full range of amenities for the entire family.

CONTACT US today for more information and a tour of our beautiful state-of-the-art community.