Look to the past to discover engaging activities designed for senior men.
For lots of older men, who have spent a lifetime on an important career, family, hobbies and interests, the concept of settling in for an afternoon of crafting is, at best, unsettling. The answer to identifying engaging activities designed for senior men is in first finding the time to dig back into the history of their lives to discover what captured their attention in the past, and then looking for creative ways to integrate those ideas into their lifestyle today.
At Morning Glory Home Care, we love getting to know the senior men we serve and providing opportunities to allow them to enjoy life to the fullest! Listed here are a few ideas that may work well for the patriarch in your family:
- Sports: When it comes to the sports fan, try out one of the many gaming systems that allow for involvement in numerous virtual sports from the comfort of home. When it’s a good time to be out and about, look into the community high school or college schedules and take your senior loved one to attend games he most enjoys: baseball, basketball, football, swim meets, golf tournaments, etc. Or plan future family get-togethers around his favorite team’s games on TV, recreating a live sporting event atmosphere with specific foods (like hot dogs and nachos), team t-shirts for everyone to wear, banners and flags for the kids to wave, and lots of cheering, of course!
- Outdoors: In the event your family member was an avid fisherman or hunter, make sure he has a lot of opportunities to be in nature and to watch great nature programming on TV or over the internet. Many nature centers and zoos now have live web cams to help people enjoy animals they might not usually encounter. Consult with your local parks to ascertain accessibility to fishing spots and boat rentals to determine if it’s practical for your senior loved one to enjoy some time on or by the water, or schedule a picnic in a wooded area and take pleasure in viewing wildlife together. You can talk with organizations that help individuals who are differently-abled, such as the National Association for Down Syndrome, which occasionally holds outdoor events in which a member is paired with an older person to offer advice about fishing or other outdoor activities.
- Music: For individuals who played a musical instrument, sang with a band, or perhaps enjoy tapping their toes to a particular genre of music, maintaining a connection to music is essential, and while it may be as simple as playing favorite songs and singing along, it can be made more engaging with a visit to a music store, attending a concert – again, the area high schools and colleges are a great resource for musical performances, or hosting a talent show for loved ones who are also musically-inclined.
- Work: Preserving a feeling of purpose is essential for each and every human alive. Men who are retired educators can volunteer to tutor or read to children through the library or school system; those who were handy with tools can continue to paint, help construct bird feeders or squirrel houses, work on assembling model cars with the grandkids. Those numerous years of experience can continue to impact the next generation!
Connect with Morning Glory Home Care, the experts in home and dementia care in Edwardsville, IL and the surrounding communities, for further suggestions to help the older men in your life remain active and engaged in what interests them most. Contact us at 618-667-8400 for a complimentary in-home consultation to learn how our knowledgeable in-home caregivers can bring restored happiness and purpose to each day for those you love.