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The Benefits Of Scrapbooking For Seniors

Posted on by ltcep2023

Scrapbooking is a great hobby for seniors to try. It gives them the chance to go through old photos and journals, stoke memories, and put together a family history that can be passed down through multiple generations. But scrapbooking can require a lot of precise movements that may be difficult for seniors who have trouble with their joints. Cutting, pasting, and writing can all be challenging for seniors who have poor dexterity or fine motor skills. Companion care at home can help seniors try a lot of different activities, including scrapbooking.

Companion care at home is specialized care for seniors who are unable to get out of the house frequently. Regular visits from a companion can prevent seniors from getting lonely and help them try new activities and games, like scrapbooking.

A companion can talk to your senior parent about family history and listen to their stories, providing the social engagement that your mom or dad needs. And they can help your mom or dad shop for scrapbooking supplies and pick up supplies from the store. Companion care at home helps your senior parent get the benefits of scrapbooking, including benefits like:

Memory Preservation

Scrapbooking helps seniors document and preserve precious memories and life stories. It evokes memories and can help seniors relive happy times of their lives. And it helps seniors create a family record that can be very important to future generations.

Cognitive Engagement

Scrapbooking is fantastic for seniors who need cognitive engagement, like seniors with Alzheimer’s. The activities involved in creating scrapbooks make seniors practice skills like problem solving, spatial orientation, and more. It’s a fun way for seniors to maintain their cognitive skills that doesn’t feel like a chore.

Stress Relief

Scrapbooking is a great way for seniors to reduce stress and manage anxiety. Studies show that making things or working with their hands can calm seniors. And immersing themselves in memories of people they loved and happy times can reduce loneliness and anxiety. Having a companion to help them scrapbook also provides important socialization.

Fine Motor Skill Practice

Scrapbooking enhances hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills through cutting, gluing, and arranging. It can be a form of occupational therapy for a lot of seniors. If your mom or dad has problems with their joints they may want to wear specialized fingerless gloves that help promote circulation and prevent joint pain when seniors are working with their hands.

Sense of Accomplishment

Scrapbooking gives seniors a sense of pride and achievement in creating something meaningful and beautiful. It also can give them purpose, help them express their creativity, and help them make friends.

Online groups for scrapbooking can help seniors by inspiring ideas, giving them a place to share their work, and giving seniors the chance to talk online with other seniors who love scrapbooking. Social media can also give seniors a wonderful way to share their creations. Your senior parent may even end up going viral for their artistic creations if they share them on social media.

Reference
https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/therapeutic-activities-alzheimers-disease

If you are considering companion care at home in Las Vegas, NV for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

How Senior Women Can Keep Friendships Strong As They Get Older

Posted on by Craig Bass
Senior Home Care in Summerlin NV
Senior Home Care in Summerlin NV

September is Women’s Friendship Month, which makes it the perfect time for senior women to check in with their female friends. Taking the time to keep friendships strong will mean better mental and physical health for senior women. Over time women can drift away from their female friends because of the demands of taking care of their families and working. But as they get older when their children have grown they have more time to nurture those friendships. And those senior years are when women need their friends the most. If your mother, aunt, or older sister is lonely aging at home and not quite sure how to reach out and renew some of those old friendships these tips might help her:

Use Social Media

Social media is a fantastic way to track down old friends. Often people move, change jobs, or end up in totally new areas of the country which makes it difficult to track them down. Social media is a fast and easy way to reconnect. And it gives the other person the option to either accept the friend request or ignore it so there’s no awkwardness. If the person wants to be friends they will accept and if they don’t they’ll ignore it and your senior loved one can move on.

Send A Card

A handwritten card or note is a lovely way to rekindle a friendship. If your senior loved one knows the address of an old friend and knows they are still at their home, or knows their current address, sending a cute little postcard or a handwritten note indicates that they are opening the door to friendship again. And just like with social media a cute note or card gives the other person the option to ignore it if they’re not interested so it’s not uncomfortable or awkward. A senior home care provider can help your senior loved one purchase cards or stationary and can help them mail the cards they write.

Be Honest

There’s no easy way to start a friendship again after a long time apart. But if the friendship didn’t end because of a fight and instead it just fizzled the best way to start a conversation about being friends again is to be honest with the other person. Your senior loved one should let that person know they missed the friendship and still thought about them after these all these years and want to get to know them again.

Start Slow

After an absence of many years there will probably be some hesitancy on the part of both people. It’s unlikely that even former best friends will just fall back into daily conversations or spending lots of time together. That’s ok. Start with a few phone calls each week, or a weekly lunch, and let the friendship naturally develop again. If your senior loved one can’t drive any longer a senior home care provider can help arrange transportation for lunches out or shopping excursions.

If you are considering senior home care in Summerlin, NV for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

Use National Anti-Boredom Month to Explore New Outdoor Activities

Posted on by Craig Bass

July was chosen as National Anti-Boredom Month because it’s the time of year when kids are out of school and starting to miss their friends. Boredom isn’t just for kids. When it gets hot outside, you may hear your parents complain about being stuck inside. What can you do?

During summer’s heat, you may not be able to get outside as much, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay trapped inside all of the time. Here are some of the outdoor activities that help your parents avoid feeling bored while also staying cool.

Fish for Fun or Food

Invest in some fishing poles and head to the nearest fishing hole. Your parents can keep what they catch and have fresh fish for dinner. Or, they could catch and release if they’re not interested in eating fish. You might want to see if fishing charters nearby can take your parents out onto the lake or ocean. That enables them to try to catch fish they don’t see as often.

Go Swimming or Soak in a Pool

Elderly Care in Summerlin NV
Elderly Care in Summerlin NV

Swimming pools aren’t as expensive as they were in the past. An inflatable ring pool is a suitable solution to summer’s heat. You don’t have to purchase a big one either. Get a small pool, fill it with water and soak in that on a hot summer’s day.

If you have a full-size pool or live near a public pool, take advantage of it. Your parents get plenty of exercise swimming laps. If they prefer, they can walk laps and use the resistance of the water to help them work out their leg muscles.

Photograph Nature

Grab a camera and head into the forest. The shade of the trees keeps you cooler, and your parents can get photos of nature along the way. If they don’t want to go into the forest, look for other scenic areas like rivers with waterfalls, lakes, and public gardens.

Play Water Volleyball

Head to a lake or ocean cove where the water is waist-deep and play water volleyball. You can get inflatable nets and an inflatable beach ball to make it easy to bring with you. The benefit to the water is you stay cool, and falling doesn’t hurt.

In between your visits, who helps your parents with daily activities? Call a home care agency and look into elderly care providers. Caregivers assist their elderly clients with housework, meals, transportation, laundry, medication reminders, and so much more. With elderly care aides helping them, your parents are able to age at home independently and safely.

If you are considering elderly care in Summerlin, NV for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.