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Spending time with seniors is often a joy, but there’s also a lot of time in the day. Any caregiver wants their senior to have the best day possible and thinking of creative new activities for seniors to do week after week is sometimes tricky.
To help you discover fun activities for seniors, here are some fresh ideas to keep their bodies and minds active—and make your day more fun, too!
Some seniors will struggle with movement, so going for walks or doing more intense exercise—like water aerobics or swimming—can be difficult. If you want to find some ways of getting them moving, morning stretches can help wake up their bodies and minds at the same time.
Browse YouTube for easy morning stretches. Many of them can be adapted to be done from a sitting position, as well, which will work for seniors with low mobility or who are in wheelchairs.
Over time, you might also find that regular stretching can help improve their overall mobility. You might be heading to the pool for water aerobics or walking around the garden in no time!
When it comes to caregiver activity tips, the brain is just as important to exercise as the body—especially for any senior with a degenerative brain disease, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. Be sure to ask lots of questions throughout the day and try to get them engaged with what they’re doing.
Crosswords, memory games, and sudokus can be fun and easy ways to get their brains in gear. You can do these games together or enlist help from friends and family who come to visit. Such activities are great social tools, too, so if you’re helping a senior who is starting to withdraw into themselves, collaborative exercises like these can work great.
Although you should be enjoying the activities, as well, try to start from a baseline activity that they also enjoy. If they love to read, word games might be a smart task to try. Don’t prescribe activities for seniors to them, but rather make it a joint effort to find something that they will enjoy and genuinely engage with.
If you need further inspiration or support with your caregiving activities, Best Care is always ready to help. Get in touch today: (651) 330-2550.
