1. Safety in the Home Becomes a Concern

Has your parent recently suffered a fall at home while no one was around? Can your parent or grandparent still do simple tasks for themself like cook a decent meal or get up the steps on their own?

Living alone isn’t off-limits for the elderly, but it can create a safety concern after a person reaches a certain age.

This is something to think about if you notice your loved one struggling to do basic everyday tasks or if they’ve needed emergency care to go to their home more than once.

2. Mobility Changed

Another sign that it’s time to move someone into a nursing home is if their mobility has changed. This applies whether they’re using a cane, a walker, or a wheelchair. Maybe they still refuse to use any of these things but you can tell they’re not moving like they used to.

Living in a nursing home puts much less strain on the body.

3. The Home Is in Disarray

There could be a pile of dishes in the sink because it’s become harder to stand for long periods of time or to bend over and use the dishwasher. The yard might become over grown or unkept because it is to hot for them to go outside or they quickly become out of breath when moving about the yard.

When safety becomes a concern in a senior’s home due to the inability to continue basic house keeping needs, it may be time to consider Nursing Home placement.

4. Personal Hygiene Is Harder to Maintain

It’s one thing for the house to be a mess, but it’s an even bigger concern if personal hygiene has started to become a problem.

Ask your loved one how often they shower/bathe and if they have trouble doing so by themselves. Talk to them about what they’re doing to be active around the house and if they are having trouble getting out of bed or standing up from a seat.

4. Eating and Sleeping Habits Have Changed

Speaking of personal hygiene, talk about how eating and sleeping have been going lately. Do you notice your parent eating a lot of the same things because they can’t cook like she used to? Is your grandparent irritable because they are having trouble sleeping or need to get up a lot in the middle of the night?

5. Medication Isn’t Being Taken properly

This is one of the bigger red flags on the list. Medication isn’t something to mess around with. Some elderly people try to avoid their medication or they decide to stop taking it altogether without telling their loved ones or doctors.

7. Conditions Have Gotten Worse

There are all kinds of medications that elderly people begin to take. These range from simple things like vitamins and nutrients to more important medications for chronic pain or serious illnesses. Even terminal conditions have medications to help make the inevitable less painful.

Still, treatment can’t solve everything. If your loved one’s health has gotten worse, this could be a sign they shouldn’t be living alone or even under your roof anymore. It’s better to have them where doctors and nurses are more easily accessible.

8. It’s Hard for the Family to Share the Load

Maybe the issue with moving your loved one into a nursing home isn’t that they’re set on living alone, but that it’s hard for the whole family to see them make this transition.

Think about it like this: it’s easier to have the peace of mind that your parent or grandparent is in good hands at a nursing home than to stress over how you and other family members are sharing the load of looking after them and if you all have missed something important that could lead to an injury or worse.

9. You’ve Already Tried At-Home Care

Professional at-home care is one way that families try to share the effort of looking after an elderly individual. This can help offset the need of moving into a nursing home for a while, but it doesn’t always solve everything. You’ve likely noticed this first-hand if the at-home care your loved one has agreed to isn’t working like it used to. This isn’t to say it’s the care person’s fault, rather, that your loved one just needs more support.

Senior Living Environments, such as a Nursing Home, may offer many of these benefits and more.