Nursery Life Station -Making Doll Therapy More Accessible In Memory Care

This project has had such a lovely impact on the memory care unit where it was created. Regularly, residents can be found sitting in the nursery area, enjoying the rocker, or admiring the dolls as they ‘sleep.’ You will also find residents rummaging through baby items and folding clothing.

Having a nursery on your memory care unit is a great way to give residents the opportunity to explore doll therapy…if and when it is appropriate for them.

I have seen residents who might one day simply see a doll in the cradle and walk right past them, and on a seperate day, you can find them talking softly to the dolls as they gently rock them back and forth, offering comfort.

Displaying the dolls in this way will allow the residents to access them easily when they feel the urge to engage in doll therapy.

The nursery also represents a safe location to lay the dolls down ‘for a nap’ when a resident no longer wishes to hold them.

WHERE TO START:

Save Where You Can, Spend Where It Counts… Staff, volunteers, and resident family members are often quick to offer items they no longer have a use for, such as baby clothing, bottles, baby spoons, books, nursery decorations, and if you get really lucky, someone may even have an antique cradle they are willing to donate to your project.

There are certainly areas on social media where you can request to have these items donated as well, however they are always available for purchase on websites such as Amazon.com if you have room in your budget, and prefer to purchase the items new.

Location, Location, Location… Take a walk around. Look for spaces that are not being used to their full potential. It does not take a large area to make a nursery, trust me. If you can find a wall somewhere, or an oddly shaped space that is currently not being used efficiently, take a moment, and try to picture ways that you could arrange the space to make a nursery area work.

It’s Not All About The Dolls… You will certainly have people who will focus solely on the dolls, however there will be others who will simply enjoy rummaging through the baby items, folding clothing/receiving blankets, reorganizing the drawers, or reading from baby books.

Make sure that you plan ahead when choosing your furniture so that you leave yourself an option for a rummage drawer or bin somewhere.

Make Some Noise… If you are able to do so, consider having soft music coming from your nursery area. This will increase relaxation, draw attention to the area, and make the doll therapy experience even more enjoyable and realistic for the resident.