4 Fun Activities to Do with Your Elderly Loved One

Elder Care in Needham, MA – Try One of these Suggestions When You’ve Run Out of Ideas!

Trying to come up with new activities to do with your elderly loved one doesn’t have to be a tremendous challenge. Depending on the senior’s physical and mental abilities, they may be limited in the type of activities they should be encouraged to partake in.

For the most part, being creative is one of the best ways to find new things to do with an elderly loved one. Not everyone is going to respond in a positive way to every activity, but the more ideas that are thrown out for consideration, the more likely they’re going to find something interesting to do, either individually or together.

Here are a few fun activities to try with your elderly loved one:

1. Go for a walk outside.
   Even though it’s the middle of winter, many parts of the country right now are experiencing warmer than average temperatures. In those regions, a nice, brisk walk outside could be incredibly beneficial. It can expose your elderly loved one to a tremendous number of stimuli and also get them some wonderful fresh air.
2. Visit animals in a local shelter.
   Pet therapy can be a very potent and powerful way to improve the emotional state of mind for elderly individuals. Most communities have an animal shelter that welcomes outside individuals to come in and spend time one-on-one with their animals. It could be cats, dogs, and in some cases other animals.
   
   Just sitting down, petting, and spending time with the animals can be an incredible boost for your elderly loved one.
3. Visit some antique shops.
   Visiting antique stores can be a great way to locate some old items, including toys, that could help the individual reminisce about their own childhood. These childhood toys and other items from their youth can conjure up a wealth of memories that can be incredibly beneficial to mental health and well-being.
4. Sing songs together.
   Listening to music that your elderly loved one used to enjoy in their younger days and singing along to them together can be a great bonding activity for the family caregiver as well as the senior. A senior may suddenly remember the lyrics to songs they had long forgotten and that can promote positive mental stimulation.

As you can see there are numerous activities to do with elderly loved ones that are both fun and engaging. Promoting a positive state of mind and health is great for anyone, regardless of age.