Fun Activities for Senior Citizens
Improve Visits - Easy Games and Ideas to Keep Seniors Active & Alert
Frail or failing elderly people need games, exercise, and things to do to keep their minds working and bodies strong. In this article, learn activities to engage elders.
Engaging and taking pleasure in visits with failing, forgetful, or weak senior citizens is possible with a little effort and creativity. Following are tips for bringing out the personality, energy, and humor in your older family members or friends with simple activities.
Introduce New Gadgets to Engage Elders
- A digital camera isn't much of a novelty for younger folk, but for a senior citizen, one can be quite interesting.
- Take pictures of their favorite items and show them a little slide show (If needed, provide a magnifying glass).
- Ask questions and take notes to begin a history and journal tp turn into a scrapbook.
- Let the senior take pictures too.
Keeping Older People Active
- For older Americans, reversal of the brain shrinkage that occurs as people age is just one benefit of greater physical activity, according to research published in The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences (Vol. 61A, No. 11).
- Another article in this same journal showed that seniors who are at risk of losing independent functioning can benefit from a structured exercise program.
- Try to encourage regular exercise by asking an expert (a medical professional such as a physical therapist) for appropriate equipment and movements. If walks are appropriate, a stroll on a nice day is a fun and easy way to pass time.
Ideas for Physically Frail Senior Citizens
- Baby toys can be a good option for keeping seniors active while encouraging hand-eye coordination. Baby and infant toys are generally colorful, soft-cornered, easy to grasp, and mind stimulating.
- Soft clay-like products made for children can be squeezed to strengthen the hands.
- Simple games can stimulate the mind. The Tangle toy pictured below is available at Target Stores, online.
- See what types of exercise a frail senior can tolerate. According to April 2002 issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, resistance training exercise just one day a week can give older adults the strength to maintain their independence and to avoid injuries (Researchers Scott Trappe, David Williamson, and Michael Godard)
- See Online Senior Citizen Gift Ideas.
Put Something Amusing on TV for Seniors
- Shows like Animal Planet (a cable channel) shows, videos of young children or baby animals, and classic musicals are good for all ages and can be funny and uplifting. Watch along with your senior. It's much more fun to laugh with a companion.
- Some great musicals include The Music Man (1962), The Sound of Music (1965), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Brigadoon (1954), and Singin' in the Rain (1952).
Ask Questions about the Senior's Childhood
- Who was their best friend and why?
- What games did they like to play?
- What was the best birthday present they ever got?
- Did they ever have a nickname?
- Put on a tape recorder or camcorder and save priceless memories to keep forever. Add to it on each visit.
Bring Children and Small, Safe Animals to Visit Senor Citizens
- Chiildren and babies can be a rare sight for older folks confined in a home or other institution. There are significant benefits to old and young that might come from greater age integration ( Uhlenberg, P, The Gerontologist; v40 n3 , p276-279 ; Mar 2000). In lieu of the real thing, bring pictures or videos.
- Many older folks miss their companion pets. Borrow a puppy, kitten or baby chick for the day and bring it in an appropriate box. Be careful to avoid scratches or bites as elders often have fragile skin. The July 2002 issue of Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, found that even one animal-assisted therapy session of 30 minutes per week was effective in reducing loneliness. See Dogplay online for more information on this type of therapy.
Activities and Ideas for Musical Seniors
- Try singing old-time songs like In the Good Ol' Summertime.
- Search online for words to hymns, early barbershop quartet songs, and classic camping tunes. A highly rated campfire songbook on Amazon.com is Campfire Songs by Irene Maddox (Globe Pequot Pr; 2nd edition, April 1994) or you can look atbookThe American Song Treasury: 100 Favorites by Theodore Raph (Dover Publications,October 1986).
- Just about everyone knows childrens' tunes such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How Much is That Doggie in the Window, and Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
The Brain and Body Connection
Treatments to keep the brain healthy can be just as effective as exercise is for the body, according to the latest special issue of The Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences (according to the June 15, 2007 press release from The Gerontological Society (by guest editor Neil Charness, PhD of Florida State University)
When visiting with seniors, it's important to bring up old memories, delight them with things that will engage their senses, and just have a little fun. Enjoying visits with a senior will enrich two lives at once. For more ideas, read about Memory Help for Seniors and Fun Visits With Senior Citizens.
For more information about senior living, see this Squidoo Seniors page.
The copyright of the article Fun Activities for Senior Citizens in Seniors/Grandparents is owned by Janienne Jennrich. Permission to republish Fun Activities for Senior Citizens must be granted by the author in writing.
