Friday 30 October

What are Fun Activities For a Homebound Senior or Someone Who Lives in a Nursing Home?

Website Snapshot

What is It? NursingHomeActivitiesResources.com is a website that helps you figure out fun and appropriate activities for your loved one from card games to exercises. This is a great resource to consult if you visit your loved one in a senior community or in their own home.
Who is It Good For? NursingHomeActivitiesResources.com is great for anyone who cares for or visits an aging relative—especially if you are unsure of how to have fun with them.

People too often can put a lot of pressure on "having a good visit" when going to see a relative who lives in a senior care community. When a person lives in a nursing home or other type of senior care community, your visit is a chance to bring in something new and add some excitement to their routine. However if you are having trouble coming up with ideas then NursingHomeActivitiesResources.com can be a real help. These ideas also work for when you are visiting a homebound senior—or one who just doesn't get out as often as they used to. The site is divvied into multiple sections including:

One thing that this site drives home is that activities need not be expensive or outlandish—they only need to be fun and enjoyable to be a good fit. When we first found this website we started swapping stories of our favorite activities as NursingHomeActivitiesResources.com and other similar types of websites serve a very important purpose—they get you thinking about what will work for you and your loved one. Everyone has their own personal likes and dislikes and when coming up with activities you should keep that and any physical limitations in mind that may mean needing to alter an activity slightly. While we spoke about this in our offices, Jill recalled that when visiting her Grandmama in a Southern California assisted living she always takes new photos of family members and that the main activity for them is walking around the place and Jill being introduced to everyone—as that's what Grandmama likes doing best! Our editor, Lara, remembered driving with her grandmother on "mini road-trips" which were 20 minutes or less from her grandmother's house as both had always like to travel, but she was too frail to go very far. They would go to spots like the old Air Force housing where her grandmother lived as a young mother and wife—and how her grandmother really enjoyed relaying small stories and memories about other families from that same time and things they did, saw, ate or smelled. It moved her grandmother into a place where she could recall details vividly and try to explain how she thought and felt about things at that time and her current perspective on them. And those are just two of the stories from our lives—we would love to hear about what you found that worked to help you and a loved one enjoy the time you spend together.

Got Ideas? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below about the activities that worked well for your loved one.