Meals in particular are a time when your aging adult may be feeling more alone than usual. Having a plan in place for increasing socialization around meals can help your aging family member to feel much better about that time of day. Here are a few ideas.
Stick to Family Meal Times.
If your aging adult lives with you, then scheduling and sticking to regular family meal times can be the easiest solution. This gives everyone in the family a chance to interact with each other and share about their individual days. This is also an excellent time for you to be able to pay closer attention to what and how your senior is eating. Having this information gives you quite a bit more to work with than you might think at first.
Set up Weekly Get Togethers.
When your senior lives in her own home still, it can be a little more difficult to enjoy every main meal together. Depending on your own obligations, you may be able to set up weekly or more frequent meals together. If you have extended family in the area, you might want to consider setting up a schedule in which everyone volunteers to host a particular dinner.
Hire Senior Care Providers.
With a particularly busy schedule, you might find it difficult to meet your aging adult’s needs for socialization while eating. Hiring senior care providers can be the perfect answer because they can help your aging adult to shop, to prepare meals, and serve as companionship during the meal. Your senior may feel odd about this idea at first, but it’s a solution that can work well at any time of day, not just for dinner.
Look for Shared Meal Opportunities.
Depending on your location, you may have quite a few other opportunities for helping your elderly family member to socialize during her meals. Senior centers and other activities focused around the elderly may offer plenty of ways for her to meet new friends and to dine with them.
Making meals a social event can boost your elderly family member’s spirits and help her to improve her appetite, so it’s worth making the effort.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring senior care in Greer, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas.
- Does Your Senior Parent Need Elder Care? - December 11, 2024
- Strategies to Prevent Wandering for Seniors with Alzheimer’s - November 7, 2024
- The Weighing Importance of Senior Home Care in Greenville, SC by Heart of the Carolinas - November 5, 2024