By John Voket
It’s one thing to try to move yourself – but as our national senior population continues to expand, your RIS Consumer Confidant knows many more of you will play a role in planning or moving mom and dad.
One Dallas Real Estate company pitched in to help by partnering with local experts at seniorlifestylespecialist.org to host a seminar called “Moving Mom and Dad: 5 Common Mistakes Adult Children of Aging Parents Make and How to Avoid Them.”
Amy Goyer, writing for AARP, described one particular challenge of that decision for her own parents:
“During the transition, it was clear that Mom wasn’t as excited about The Big Move as Dad was. She loved her home and felt moving would be a huge loss. She acknowledged that Dad had most of the responsibility for keeping up the house, but her heart still had a hard time letting go. Sensitivity to her viewpoint was essential; no one wants to be “told” she has to move. We allowed her time to get used to the idea, and that made a big difference emotionally.”
Goyer also said she had some success using an assisted-living locator service, which assessed our needs and discussed housing options.
If moving a parent or parents INTO your home, caring.com has a practical 10-step guide that could be very helpful. Among its points of advice is:
Here are some other things to consider:
- Is there a bathroom available on the floor the older adult is on?
- Is the bathroom big enough to handle a wheelchair or walker if necessary? For a wheelchair, the doorway needs to be at least 32 inches wide, and preferably 36 inches.
- Will one of your children have to give up a bedroom? Could a child share his or her bedroom with the older adult?
- If there’s no extra bedroom, can you convert a living room or den into a bedroom? Can you convert an attic or basement into a bedroom for you or a child and have your parent or relative move into an existing bedroom?
- Will everyone have a level of privacy they’re comfortable with?
What renovations will be necessary to make your home older-adult-friendly, and how will you pay for it?
For other resources on the subject, check out: homemods.org.
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2015. All rights reserved.
