I don’t know about you, but throughout the 2020 pandemic, it has been very challenging to keep my seventy-five-year-old senior Dad entertained and fulfilled. He has early-stage Dementia, and as his primary caregiver, I have needed to think outside the box to keep him happy and not feeling anxious out of boredom.
I have been his primary caregiver for eight years now and have experienced my share of meltdowns, personal anxiety, and stress over how to keep him from being too idle. One of the most efficient ways to help you and your senior stay engaged is to have an arsenal of ideas that will bring variety and excitement to both your days and provide your senior with entertainment in between eating, napping, and medication.
The senior in your life needs to have variety in their day to day activities and keeping my senior entertained has led me to compile this list of the best outlets and activities that you can try in your own routines.
1. Making Their Own Shopping List
My Dad cannot cook for himself, but I did not want that to stop him from having control over what he eats. To meet in the middle, I tried having him write his own wish list from the grocery store, and then we would discuss it.
These discussions about the shopping list helped him feel more involved and led us into fun conversations about different food cultures, great meals from his past, and grocery store differences.
Taking it a step further, we started collecting the coupons and checking the sales that came in the mail from various stores and added the deals to the list, which he was excited about. If your senior is interested in going online, you can check out the online deals for your favorite grocery stores as well.2.
2. Television Subscriptions
We started with basic cable in my house, which my Dad was familiar with and attached to. However, as we no longer had use for the landline that made our cable bill cheaper, and individual TV subscriptions had moved to the forefront of how to watch TV, we decided to swap our cable for subscriptions.
This involved getting my Dad a smart TV, easy to use remote, and taking the time to teach him how to use it. It does take many tutorials and reminders to make your senior feel comfortable with a new platform for their television needs, but it is well worth it once they understand how much they can watch.
I recommend getting Netflix, Hulu (which can come with HBO, Starz, and other add-ons), and Prime Video. If they decide that they still want the live TV aspect, you can always purchase a live TV subscription like Sling. On a smart TV, it is easy to toggle between each platform and browse thousands of movies and TV at their leisure.
3. Edible Garden
Edible gardens can be enjoyed as an outdoors activity or can be grown inside right on the windowsill. Having an edible garden will give the senior in your life something to take care of daily and eventually produce food.
Check what kind of herbs, fruits, or veggies grow in your area this time of year and either grab the items you’ll need individually like soil and pots, or you can buy an Edible Garden Kit on Amazon.
Maintaining an edible garden is a leisure activity that gives older adults stimulation and a sense of accomplishment that will benefit both their health and mind.
4. Listening to Music
It is important for seniors to listen to music! Not only does it tap into overall wellness, but it also boosts mood, encourages exercise, and decreases the feeling of isolation.
Eldercare Alliance notions that “Music has the power to stimulate feelings of well-being by evoking powerful memories and emotions. Seniors who have trouble remembering recent events may find meaning in songs that bring back older memories, and experts note that music can improve a person with Dementia’s quality of life.”
I showed my Dad what YouTube was and how to use it. I put on some oldies I thought he would like, and he immediately recognized the genre, so we watched a bunch of the related videos. Once he got the hang of how to use YouTube, it was like nostalgic music sparks were flying, and he was able to remember many hidden gems from his past.
Record players seem to have made a hipster comeback in recent times, and they still resonate with seniors today. Adding a record player and some throwback records to your repertoire might also be a good move to engage your senior.
5. Birdhouse
According to seniorsmatter.com, “Birdhouses can be painted, sanded, and re-painted, and used many times in group and one-on-one situations. This activity helps maintain hand-eye coordination and dexterity and is a great way to promote mindfulness and pleasant feelings”.
Building a birdhouse is the classic senior crafting activity that is underrated because it’s a cliche. Not only are they able to express their creative side, but they are also able to watch their craft at work as birds come to use the house.
There are many different varieties and skill levels of birdhouses available online or in stores, so that they do not have to stop after building just one birdhouse.
6. Magazine Subscription
In this digital era, it is important to remember that the option for physical magazines and newspapers still exists. Classic magazines like Time, National Geographic, and Science Today are fabulous publications that your senior can receive in the mail.
I noticed that every time we go to the doctor’s office, my Dad is excited to peruse the magazines available on the table. He grabs a couple, brings them with him into the appointment, and does not want to put them down when the visit is over.
So, a light bulb went off for me, and I thought, why not get him his own magazines?
We found a few magazines that piqued his interest, subscribed to them, and it was a great decision. Currently, he has two subscriptions, but I feel like there is room to subscribe to even more.
7. Become Part of a Phone A Senior Program
There are programs all over the place that encourage phone calls between seniors and a designated person to fight loneliness. The Institute on Aging has a Senior Friendship line at 800-971-0016 that is available 24 hours and has the option for seniors to receive calls.
Programs like this one have professionals at the other end, but there are also initiatives out there that involve private citizens talking with seniors. You can find all the resources in your area by doing an internet search or go with programs like the Senior Friendship Line.
SeniorAdvisor.com advocates, “Senior phone programs give seniors a way to make connections without having to go anywhere, and they do so through a technology most seniors are already comfortable with: telephones.” Programs like these offer crucial emotional support and are incredible resources for seniors to connect and find fulfillment by talking with someone.
Fighting loneliness and finding connections for your older adult will improve their quality of life by providing support and giving them something to look forward to.
8. Audiobooks or Podcasts
Audiobooks and podcasts have the potential to create hours of active or passive listening entertainment for any senior. With so much variety in podcast topics, it is easy to sift through the different categories and find something they like.
Asking your senior about their reading history can help you determine what kind of books they like. If they are unsure what to listen to, you can always put on a treasured classic.
Podcasts are much more niche-heavy, so asking your senior if they like true crime, history, comedy, etc., can be a good gateway into exploring the endless number of available podcasts.
9. Steam Games, World of Warcraft
Teaching the senior in your life how to play games online can open a world of entertainment possibilities. For my Dad, he started playing World of Warcraft because his other caregiver in the house played and wanted to teach him. He likes the game mostly for exploring the different graphic worlds and for completing missions.
World of Warcraft itself can be a pretty broad game, but it can be intense at times. If immersive world games are not something your older adult would be into, there are plenty of other options. There are games where they only need to use the keyboard or only need to use the mouse.
Steam Games online offers hundreds of games to play for free or to purchase to download, while World of Warcraft can be as little as $12.99 a month.
You can also introduce them to easier, more passive computer games like Mahjong, Solitaire, or Hearts.
Your senior would get a lot of stimulation and fulfillment from playing games, whether it be other world type games or more simple games that could be good for instant gratification.
10. Adopt a Senior Pet
Senior pets for senior citizens is such a fantastic concept because older animals have so much love to offer and make some of the best companions. Seniors for Seniors programs have ballooned in popularity the last few years, with many shelters or private organizations offering these types of exchanges, usually with all fees waived.
There are many benefits to adopting a senior pet for your senior. From knowing that your new companion is already trained, to providing friendships and the opportunity to interact with other pet owners, senior pets can give your senior citizen improved quality of life.
11. Use Twitch to Watch Games Online
For seniors who like gaming as a hobby but do not necessarily want to play, they can watch professional or regular gamers play all kinds of computer games like League of Legends, Minecraft, or Fortnite using Twitch.
Twitch is a live streaming platform where you can watch real-time gameplay and get involved in game communities and chats. You can hop onto the website with your senior and browse all the different live streams to find which one appeals to them.
My Dad enjoys the game League of Legends for its team camaraderie and game premise, but he feels intimidated and overwhelmed to actually play, so he gets a lot of joy out of watching his favorite players from around the world compete.
Conclusion
This list has a mix of sedentary, social, interactive, passive, and crafty activities to try with your senior who needs more variety in options of things to do. Using outlets from my list will engage your senior and provide them with stimulation and connections in different ways depending on their interests.
Older adults who feel engaged and fulfilled can live a much happier life. Taking care of my senior Dad has certainly come with its moments of frustration and confusion, but these moments are helped by knowing that I have an arsenal of different ideas to keep him entertained and have variety in this life.
I hope that some of the activities and outlets on my list can translate to applicable ideas for you and the senior in your life and can bring you both less stress when trying to find things to do.
