The best time to talk to parents about senior care

Tatyana Zlotsky, CEO of A Place for Mom, is urging families to initiate discussions regarding senior care well before a medical emergency occurs to ensure better financial and emotional outcomes. According to industry data, the vast majority of families regret delaying these conversations, which often leads to rushed decisions during periods of high stress. For the senior care sector, this highlights a critical need for proactive planning tools and professional guidance to help families navigate the complexities of aging and long-term care transitions.

Tatyana Zlotsky, CEO of the senior living referral service A Place for Mom, reports that 77% of the families her organization assists express regret over not acting sooner. Waiting until a crisis, such as a fall or hospitalization, significantly increases the emotional and financial burden on families. Zlotsky notes that family caregivers lose an average of $21,000 annually as they are forced to reduce their working hours to provide care for aging relatives. This procrastination is often driven by caregiver burnout and the difficult psychological shift in the parent-child relationship, where seniors resist losing independence and adult children feel ill-equipped to start the conversation.

The expert advises adult children to look for subtle warning signs of cognitive decline that go beyond obvious memory loss. Specifically, changes in executive functioning—the ability to manage multi-step tasks—can signal a need for intervention. Zlotsky cites the example of a parent who suddenly stops a decades-long habit, like making coffee, because the sequential steps required have become too difficult to manage. Identifying these cognitive shifts during routine visits allows families to seek professional consultation and diagnose underlying issues before a catastrophic health event occurs.

Planning ahead allows families to thoroughly compare care options, understand the long-term costs of senior housing, and ensure the older adult's personal preferences are honored. Zlotsky emphasizes that seniors have strong opinions on how and by whom they wish to be cared for, and breaking the ice early can mitigate the stress associated with emergency placements. For the senior care industry, this shift toward proactive planning suggests a growing market for digital tools and advisory services that facilitate these difficult conversations and help families manage the financial journey of aging.