Dementia assisted living in Kansas City understands that the holidays can be a challenging season for seniors living with dementia. Oftentimes, seniors with dementia can feel abandoned, unloved, and alone, so being intentional in spending time with seniors with dementia is important. Dementia assisted living in Kansas City has found many effective ways to ensure residents have a happy holiday.

Although the holiday season is a joyous time for many, often older adults find the season hectic, confusing, and even depressing. The state of seniors’ mental, physical, and emotional health can impact not only their day-to-day lives but during the holidays it can be challenging to find ways to help them stay calm and experience joy and happiness. For family members, the holidays are an opportune time to visit and observe your loved one’s daily habits. It is important for you to recognize the symptoms of holiday depression that your parent may be exhibiting. You can witness how they interact with others and assess ways to help them feel included in some capacity. Here are several tips that Clover Care Home dementia assisted living in Kansas City has found that family members and staff can do to help their aging residents:

• Establish New Traditions: When traveling is no longer an option, bring the family to them. Our dementia assisted living facility in Kansas City hosts various holiday activities. Plan for out-of-town family members to visit and participate in scheduled events or meet halfway at a new location outside the facility. Arrange small gatherings for other family members (especially grandchildren), older friends and neighbors to drop in. These are effective ways to bring some holiday cheer to seniors.
• Sharing Memories: A wonderful way for elderly adults to interact with people is to ask them to talk about special times in their lives. Many young people love to hear about what it was like when their older loved ones were younger, especially the more light-hearted, happier times. Bring out home movies that you can watch together or look at family photo albums.
• Take Action: Find things that your loved one can participate in that involve physical activity, such as baking cookies, decorating their personal space, or making holiday Encourage participation in the dementia assisted living facility in Kansas City’s group activities to get your loved one moving. If they are able, dance with them to favorite tunes, or stroll through the neighborhood with them to enjoy the holiday lights.
• Quality Time: You can learn a lot from elderly adult residents when you take the time to just be with them and listen to what they have to say, it’s meaningful to them, and goes a long way to validating their place in your life and makes them feel worthy.
• Monitoring: Dementia assisted living in Kansas City helps elderly adults by monitoring their medication intake and making sure they eat properly and get plenty of rest during the hectic holiday season. It’s not unusual for seniors to forget to eat or to become wrapped up in the festivities and get overstimulated. When you have their best interests in mind, you can tailor the activities to their particular condition.

Holiday traditions and activities can be adapted in countless ways, and flexibility can help ensure your loved one is healthier and happier, more active and stays engaged. Whether you are able to visit along with the whole family or it’s just you alone, you can do a lot to ensure your parent isn’t spending the holidays alone. The most important thing is that they know that you are thinking of them and committed to helping them feel loved, valued, and included.

At Clover Care Home dementia assisted living in Kansas City, we want the best for our residents every day, not just during the holidays. We take time to get to know residents on an individual basis; we know what foods they like, or dislike. We know if they enjoy listening to music or prefer quiet time reading – or being read to. It’s different with each person, and we focus on making each and every day the best it can be for our seniors, especially during the holidays. If you would like more information on the services we provide, contact us today at (913) 991-2605 or visit our website.