How Can You Encourage Your Senior to Socialize More?

By Robert D. Liken CPC, CTS, President

March 8, 2018

Having an active social life can be very important for your senior’s mental and emotional health and well-being. If she’s not as socially active as she used to be, there may be something that you can do for her.
 

Home Care in Upper St. Clair PA: Seniors Getting Social
Home Care in Upper St. Clair PA: Seniors Getting Social

 
Ask Why She’s Not Interested in Socializing
The best way to get a full understanding of your senior’s reasons for being less socially active is to simply ask her. Some people have different requirements in terms of socializing. It’s possible that your elderly family member is fine with her current level of social activity, but it never hurts to find out. You may realize that she’s cut back on her driving and needs help from you or from elder care providers to get out more often.
 
Invite Your Senior to Different Events
You can also start to invite your senior to different events that you think she might enjoy. If she’s been waiting for people to invite her, she may have felt as if no one wanted her to be there. The easiest way to avoid misunderstandings like this is to talk to your senior about what’s going on and how involved she wants to be now and in the future.
 
Encourage Other Family Members to Visit
Other family members may likewise worry that they could bother your senior if they show up. Set up a system for people to know when it’s a good time to drop in and visit your elderly family member. Your senior may really enjoy having more visits from family members that she hasn’t been able to see as often as she would have liked.
 
Correct What Can Be Corrected to Make Your Senior More Comfortable
Ultimately, this is about assessing the situation and determining if there’s anything that needs to be corrected. If your elderly family member is embarrassed that she’s not able to keep up her appearance like she always did, for example, you may be able to help her out with that more often. Until you determine what the issue might be, you’re not as able to make corrections to the situation as you’d like to be.
If your elderly family member simply doesn’t want to be more socially active, you may not be able to change her mind. This is especially true if your senior has never been all that socially active to begin with. Check in with your senior frequently and make sure that she’s getting the interaction that she wants to have.

If you are considering Home Care in Upper St. Clair, PA, please contact the friendly staff at Liken Home Care. Call (412) 693-6820 or (855) 856-0551