Tag: Social Seniors

Some seniors love animals, and pets can be great companions to have when aging in place. But there comes the point when a senior can no longer care for an animal. Even with help from home care assistance, they may not be capable of taking care of a dog or small animal like a bunny. Having responsibilities even in old age is important, but not if it puts animals in danger. If your senior can no longer care for their animals, it’s time to give them up and find different solutions. Home care assistance can be there to support your senior as they deal with no longer owning a pet, as well as take them to get some hands-on time with animals Here are some solutions if your senior doesn’t have a pet and needs an animal fix.

Visit an Animal Shelter

Not only can you visit an animal shelter, but you can also volunteer with animals! If your seniors know they can’t have any more animals, the shelter may allow them to socialize with the animals. This not only helps the animals get used to people, but it allows seniors to be around little furry friends and may give them something to look forward to. If a senior wants to do this, home care assistance can help add it to their weekly schedule and may even provide transportation. Volunteering at an animal shelter can help seniors to stay active, build new relationships, and combat feelings of loneliness. Animal companionship also provides health benefits for seniors, such as reduced stress and improved physical and mental health.

Go To a Petting Zoo

Sometimes animal shelters won’t accept new volunteers or have an intake process that can be too strict for a senior. If that happens, try a petting zoo. This is a place where tons of animals look for human interaction. Petting zoos are great for seniors because they can get close to animals and interact in a safe and controlled environment. In addition, these types of zoos may be spread out and allow a senior to move around and walk around, which can be healthy for them too!

Visit a Friend With Pets

If your senior had to give their pet to a friend, ask their friend if they would let the senior come visit. This is a good way to see their beloved furry friends thrive and make the seniors feel happy with their choice. If your senior didn’t have to give up their pet, find a friend for your senior with pets! Set a friend date so the senior can leave the house, meet the friend, and see the animals.

Find a Low Maintenance Pet

Last but not least, try to find a low-maintenance pet. Your senior loved one may not be able to handle a dog, but they may be able to handle a pet fish or another small pet that requires little care. Evaluate what your senior can do and their energy levels before buying a pet, and always ask home care assistance what they’re comfortable helping with before you make your decisions.

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care assistance in Brooklyn Park, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

If you have been looking at fun activities to do with your senior parent, there are tons of national “days” that celebrate all kinds of things. One day that is coming up soon is National Go Fishing Day, a great idea for something to do with your senior. This day is celebrated on June 18th and celebrating it can highlight how fishing can be beneficial for your senior. Here are a few of the benefits of fishing for your senior, and how home care can play a role:

Health Benefits of Fishing

You may be surprised to find out that fishing does have a few health benefits, which can be even more of a reason to get out on June 18th.

It’s Physical Activity

Staying fit can be incredibly hard as you get older, but fishing can be a good way to get outside and move around. It won’t be draining or physically exhausting, but it will help get a senior moving.

Fishing Helps a Senior Socialize

Fishing with family and friends is a favorite pastime, particularly for the grandkids. A fishing vacation is a great opportunity to spend time with your family, create lasting memories, and have a good time. There are many things to do, from just relaxing in nature to engaging in friendly competitions to see who can catch the largest fish.

It’s Stress Relieving

This is a time for you and your dad to openly talk; it allows you both to get out in nature where you can feel stress-free. Limiting the amount of stress a senior feels is crucial when trying to help them live healthier and longer.

What To Do Instead of Fishing

Not all seniors will like fishing, but maybe your senior mom still wants to celebrate a fun day like this. There are other ways to celebrate this day. You can take your senior mom out on the lake to watch the sunset on a dock or on a boat. You can go fishing and bring back your catch to cook up a nice meal for her. Lastly, you can play go fish, the card game! It’s a way of “fishing” without ever leaving the house.

How Home Care Can Help

Finding ways to keep your senior parents happy while living out the rest of their days can seem impossible. Especially when they have so much free time, and you don’t. If you can’t seem to find the time to help your senior mom or dad throughout the day, it may be time to look into home care providers to help with everyday activities. You may be there for the fun activities once in a while, but your senior parent may need more help than that. It is okay to turn to home care for that additional help that is often needed when an elderly loved one chooses to age in place.

Source
https://nationaltoday.com/national-go-fishing-day/

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in St. Paul, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

How often do you also think about including your brain in daily exercises when you’re working out? Physical activity is also one way to exercise the brain, but there are others.

A study determined that physical activity involving muscle contractions improved attention and memory skills. When mice were put onto treadmills and studied, researchers found that the hippocampus area of the mice’s brains developed new neurons.

Physical activity does help the brain stay healthy, but there are other ways to exercise the brain. Here are some of the best options.

Play Video Games Together

Some video games work on hand-eye coordination. Purchase detective and puzzle games to play with your parents. There are mysteries and puzzles to solve to advance the game’s plot. Games can be set in the past, present, or future.

Some games have you playing as a character, such as the Sherlock Holmes mystery games. You follow the story, look for clues, put the clues together using analytical skills, and solve the crimes or mysteries. There are many games where you must solve puzzles to escape areas or complete a challenge to move to the next level.

Assemble a Jigsaw Puzzle

Purchase jigsaw puzzles to work on together. Challenging puzzles take time, and they require a lot of critical thinking skills as you match colors, patterns within the picture, and shapes of the pieces.

Do a Crossword Together

Print out the daily crossword and complete it with your parents. You may know words they’re struggling to fill in, and they’ll know some you don’t. It works on recollection and vocabulary. Purchase a crossword book if you don’t feel like printing them out.

Take Dance Lessons

Take dance lessons together. Learn by watching videos or enrolling in a class. Dance is a great aerobic workout, but it also requires memorization and counting to get the steps down. You have to remember how to complete the movements in the proper sequence.

Visit Escape Rooms

You’re looking for a fun family outing to go on with your parents. Have you looked into an escape room? Often, you can have a group of up to ten people. The rooms are private, so only family is within the room. Escape rooms are cleaned between groups to prevent the spread of germs.

Work together to solve the puzzles, unlock doors, and work your way to the escape. There are different themes, and escape rooms change regularly. You can visit regularly and try a different room each time.

How Personal Care at Home Can Help

When you aren’t able to be there to help your senior keep their mind busy, personal care at home can step in to help. Personal care at home providers offer more than just medication reminders and ambulatory assistance. Companionship and social engagement are just two of the many other benefits of personal care at home providers.

Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6770965/

If you or an aging loved one is considering personal care in Edina, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

Personal Care at Home in Eagan MN
Personal Care at Home in Eagan MN

October is National Adopt A Shelter Dog month which means it’s a great time to find the perfect canine companion for your senior loved one. Dogs are wonderful pets for seniors. And having a pet can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, lower cholesterol levels, and help seniors manage the symptoms of depression. But it’s important that you choose the right kind of dog for your senior loved one. Use these tips to find a dog that will fit perfectly with your senior loved one:

Match Your Senior’s Energy Level

In order to find the right dog for your senior parent you should consider your senior loved one’s energy level and the dog’s energy level. If your senior loved one has a lot of energy and is always on the go wanting to get out and see new things a high energy dog that likes to be always doing something would be a good fit for them. If your senior parent is less energetic and prefers to nap on the couch then a dog with a more laid back attitude is going to be a better fit. Look for a dog that has the same interest and energy as your parent to make sure they won’t get frustrated with each other.

Don’t Discount Senior Dogs

Sometimes people assume that puppies are the best companions but senior dogs are often a better fit for senior people. Senior dogs enjoy a good nap and don’t need as much walking and activity and interaction as younger dogs. Puppies that need training may be perfect for some seniors but other seniors may prefer a dog that is going to be a more laid back companion. Senior dogs also usually are the last to be adopted so there are always lots of senior dogs that are looking for good homes.

Consider The Dog’s Needs

You can find a wide mix of dog breeds at any pet shelter. When you’re choosing a companion dog for a senior keep in mind that different breeds have very different needs. Some breeds need a lot of walking and exercise daily while others are fine with short walks and don’t require a lot of maintenance. Some breeds are more high-strung than others and wouldn’t do well in high-stress environments. Ask some of the shelter staff what breed would be the best for your senior parent and their particular living situation.

Get Some Help With Daily Care

If you’re worried about your senior loved one’s ability to make sure that the dog gets walked and taken outside regularly a personal care at home provider can help both your senior loved one and the dog. When your senior loved one is getting regular visits from a personal care at home provider they will also be able help move heavy bags of dog food, clean the dog’s dishes, and wash blankets and beds. With the extra support from a personal care at home provider your senior parent can get all the benefits of having a dog and a deserving dog can get a loving forever home.

Source:
https://petsfortheelderly.org/our-work/research.php

If you or an aging loved one is considering personal care at home in Eagan, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.

Senior home care can help a lot when a family is worried about their loved ones. However, the senior is still a part of your family, and you should make an effort to go see them multiple times a month. They will want to see your kids and spend quality time with you. It can be so important for a senior’s mental health to still feel included in their family.

When seniors get lonely, it can impact their mental and physical health more than you might know. Fall is coming up in a few short weeks, and it’s time to get your older loved ones out of the house and enjoy some fall activities with your family.

Ask their senior home care providers for ideas if you are worried about what activities your senior parent or grandparent can’t do. They will tell you how mobile they are and how long of activities they like to do. This year is going to be the best year to enjoy activities outside. Here are some fun fall activities you can take your family and beloved senior to do.

Fun Fall Outdoor Activities

There are so many fun ways to spice up senior living; you just have to get creative. If your parents or grandparents have a senior home care specialist, get them in on the fun. Here are some easy ideas that your senior might love to do with the whole family.

Ghost Tours

Many towns offer tours where you can sit with your senior on a carriage or bus and learn about the haunted places in the town. This is a fun way for you guys to spend a fall evening and it doesn’t involve too much walking! It can be a fun and spooky way to enjoy this fall. Best of all, it gets your senior out of the house.

Pumpkin Patch

Nothing screams outside fall activities like a pumpkin patch. In most towns there will be one or two pumpkin patches to choose from. This is a great option to take seniors to because there are usually short walks that are easy and bathrooms nearby. Some pumpkin patches even have short rides to and from the patches! This makes it an easy activity for the whole family to enjoy.

S’mores!

If you plan on doing a fire in your backyard, invite your parents or grandparent over too. They will love spending time with the family around a warm fire pit or bonfire. You can invite their senior home care specialist to drive them and help them with hotdogs and s’mores. This is a fun fall activity that will bring you and your senior together.

Fall Family Photos

It can be so much fun to take a family photoshoot with the seniors and kids. This allows you to get your kids, parents, or grandparents involved. Not to mention, all of the colors of fall can be captured in a stunning photo. It may also make excellent Christmas cards.

If you are worried about picking up your senior, have the senior home care assistant help out. Part of their job is to ensure your seniors get places they need to go. While you are watching them at the event, the caregiver can go do other household chores for the senior.

If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Maple Grove, MN, and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.