Whether it was your decision or theirs, parents moving into a senior living community may not be the easiest, but staying connected definitely can be. Making the effort to stay in touch will surely make their transition easier and prevent depression and isolation. Here is a list of tips to help you stay connected and ways you can continue caregiving no matter what the distance may be.
Tips on Staying Connected with Seniors
Phones and Mobile Devices
A telephone is the first and obvious choice on the topic of communication. It’s an oldie but goodie. However, the art of the phone call is slowly dying out as more people find the practice to be inconvenient compared to other forms of communication. Pick and choose what primary channel of communication works best for you and your parents. Primary channels include phone calls, text messaging, and video chats, all of which inspire active conversations.
Social Media
Our mobile devices offer us more than one way to communicate to one another, so much so that at times it may seem overwhelming. Choose a communication outlet they’ll not only understand but use with pleasure. When they enjoy it, it’ll increase the likeliness of active use. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that simply being friends with your parents on Facebook or following each other Instagram will mean you’ll be all set when it comes to keeping in touch. Because when you think about it, most social media sites are quite impersonal. Truly staying in touch involves actively writing comments on their pages and/or tagging them to posts that they might enjoy. Use social media sites as a supplemental form of communication.
Are Mom and Dad not the savviest when it comes to technology? Don’t worry, with this guide of tech adoption for seniors and introduction to the top social media platforms, they’ll be pros before you know it.
Pen and Paper
It’s hard to imagine how we ever got along without our technology. But if you try hard enough, you may be able to remember a time when people actually sent letters and postcards. An occasional letter or card among the usual pile of bills and junk mail found in the mailbox would be a refreshing, to stay the least. Especially if enclosed is an old photo, a wonderful opportunity to reminisce fond memories.
Staying connected with family and friends through these “traditional” forms of communication. A just-because-letter to remind your parents that you still think about them is also a sweet gesture with a personal touch you just cannot get from any mobile phone, no matter what features it may possess.
