Moving to a care home from your own home can be stressful and scary for new care home residents. We are here to let you know five ways you can make the moving process less stressful for your friend or family member.

1. Respect Them

Talk to the person about how they are feeling. Lay it out in the open if they are worried and be open to talking about the issues and going over them as much as possible. Be aware of their feelings and think about the change from their perspective.

2. Give it Time

Wherever possible, then build up towards the move in advance, take them to see a few care homes, and talk about it with them. Get them interacting with residents at public meets and take them on a trip with the other residents if you can. If it seems too much too soon, consider getting home help for a while first. Care homes should be used for the residents’ best interest. If they are ok at home, often home help can be cheaper than a care home move so maybe leave it a while before they have to go.

3. Decorate their New Room

Often care homes in Chingford will let residents decorate their rooms. Take special furniture, clothes, books, and ornaments to their new room. Get them a few gifts that they will enjoy and make the process feel special. Buy fruit and chocolates and even wine to help them feel like it is a new home and not somewhere they are being forced to go. Be open and honest about the situation.

4. Befriend the Staff and Residents

Go over to the care home and talk to everyone, be the life and soul and hand out chocolates and cake. If everyone loves you, it will mean your relative feels excited and popular when they come to the place. It is nice if people talk and know each other, make it feel like a community.

5. Visit

When your relative has moved, make sure you schedule in visits. Do what you will be able to keep up with. So many people visit every day in the first month and then not at all as it gets too much. Be kind to yourself and think about it from both perspectives. It might be better if you visited once a week or twice a month as long as you keep it up.

If they are well enough, take your relative out in the car and go shopping or to a local park once a week. If that isn’t possible, then go for a walk around the gardens of the home and make sure they are getting booked into the organized trips and getting involved with the goings-on. If they aren’t, then talk to them and suggest you do it together, help them fit in, and get to know the other residents. Friendships are so important at every stage of life.

Be positive and happy about the change as well as understanding. Promote excitement about what you can and be honest about the challenges and there for them when they need you. Be real and kind, and don’t burn yourself out trying to be a superhero. Give yourself time to plan activities and days out that you can do together and make the transition as pain-free as possible.