A lot of family activities are designed to make memories like holiday meals or opening gifts at Christmas. But when you have a senior parent with Alzheimer’s you can’t help them make memories. As the disease gets worse they won’t be able to form memories. All they have are moments. So you and your senior’s personal care at home providers should focus on giving them as many good moments as possible. Little moments of joy, of connectedness, and of peace are the best gifts that you can give someone you love who has dementia.
Here are a few ways that you and their personal care at home providers can do that for them:
Going For Walks
A very easy way to give your senior parent some great moments is to go for a walk with them. On a nice sunny day go for a walk in the neighborhood. Really notice the trees and the sunlight. Let your senior loved one stop to smell some flowers, or marvel at how blue the sky is. Those kind of sensory driven moments are a wonderful way to connect with someone who has Alzheimer’s. They might not remember those walks, but you definitely will.
Going For Drives
Another great opportunity for creating special moments is going for drives. When you’re driving you may need to take some safety precautions like making sure the child locks on the car doors are engaged so that your senior loved one can’t open the car door but you should open the window a little bit for them. Let them smell the crisp air and watch the green fields slip past the car. You might also want to play some of their favorite music and sing along with them. Singing together in the car as you drive on a beautiful day is exactly the kind of special moment with your senior parent that you will treasure.
Playing Board Games
Game night is a fun family experience that you can share with your senior loved one. You can also include your kids if you want your kids to have a special memory with their grandparent. If your senior loved one has a personal care at home provider that personal care at home provider can also play games with you and your senior parent to make the game more fun. Just make sure that you choose a game that your parent can still play. It doesn’t matter if the game is simple. It’s the act of spending that quality time together that what matters.
Sharing Meals
Sharing a favorite meal with your senior loved one is something to treasure. It doesn’t have to be a fancy meal, although it can be. Sitting on the deck having bakery cinnamon rolls and coffee in the morning or having take out from a restaurant your senior parent has always loved is enough to create one perfect moment for your senior parent. As their Alzheimer’s progresses and they are living from moment to moment those moments you share will be ones that will bring you both joy.