When parents are aging, the toughest and most challenging conversation is about living arrangements as daily activities or home care become a burden. How do you know which is best for your aging parents? How can you decide what to do to make the next chapter of living feel full and positive? The issue is real and difficult when deciding what to do for the best living situation for your parents. 

Home Care vs. Assisted Living Care

Home Care 

The benefits of Home Care are that you actually stay in your home and have someone come and provide assistance and care. This arrangement can be different for everyone, depending on what your aging parents need to maintain a safe, healthy and happy living arrangement. One of the biggest benefits of Home Care is that your parents can stay in their home with familiar surroundings and items that bring them comfort. A majority of the time, parents have a full time live-in caregiver who plans activities, games and meals to keep life functioning somewhat normal. The caregiver typically becomes a wonderful companion to help maintain a healthy and safe lifestyle and also allows adult parents to be at ease since they are not there every minute of every day.

Home care can be what you want to a degree. You can customize the care to take your parents to events they enjoy, if they like to get out and be social, or you can customize the caregiver to arrange time doing things in the home such as cooking and cleaning and having people over upon occasion. The bottom line is that home care is easily adaptable to your parents wants and needs, but it can also be a little more costly having someone there to offer 24 hour care and assistance. However, the peace of mind to keep your parents in the comfort of their own home and safe, can be worth the additional costs and not to mention the contentment that your parents are safe while in their own home. 

Assisted Living

Another type of care that many people also choose or consider is Assisted Living care. This care is great when your aging parents need a little more assistance with basic living skills. However, this care can be flexible too. You can have a short term or long term stay with assisted living based on your parents needs. Many aging parents worry it could be the worst place to go and it really is not. Most communities offer so many activities and services it feels like home. Many services include transportation to local events, hair salon, movie theater, gyms, swimming pools, and many more amenities that help your aging parents feel comfort and joy in the next phase of living. Like Home Care, Assisted Living care gives you peace of mind that mom or dad have 24 hour care and will be safe. Additionally, Assisted Living care tends to be a little less costly too. If Assisted Living feels like a fit you want to explore, I am available to discuss all the research and work to help you find the right fit for your living needs.  

Changes in your parents’ living arrangement are HUGE. Having an experienced senior living advocate who helps you and knows what to do to make it the best transition in living is amazing.  If you have more questions or concerns about your aging parents, contact Ann Jamison at Senior Living Options. Ann is experienced with aging adults and how to find the best living arrangements for your parents at each chapter of the aging process. She has been a caregiver and has expert advice to help you have a positive experience while helping mom or dad move to the next chapter of living a full and purposeful life.

Author: Ann Jamison

Ann Jamison is an experienced senior advisor who has successfully worked with hundreds of families to help them find the best care and home-like environment for themselves or their loved ones. Prior to launching Senior Living Options, Ann was an eldercare advisor for a national placement agency and served as sales director at a senior living community. Thanks to her 25-year career in advertising sales and marketing, Ann is able to discern between hype and reality for her clients. Ann recognizes that there are objective factors that need to be weighed when making a life-changing decision, but she can also assess the important softer attributes by getting to know her clients and by using the gut instincts that can only come through extended experience.