Show Your Elderly Relatives You Care With These Acts Of Kindness
- Written by News Company
As people grow older and find themselves in the elderly stage of life, they often begin to feel lonely, and some may even begin to suffer from depression. Isolation, social withdrawal, health difficulties and bereavement can all take a major toll on the emotional wellbeing of your elderly relatives. If you have elderly people in your life that you love, remember to show them some of these important acts of kindness.
Help them with difficult transitions. As your relatives grow older, there may come a time when living in a residential assisted living facility would be more comfortable, supportive, and enjoyable for them than living alone at home or with family members. Organising this level of care can be difficult for an elderly person, especially when there’s paperwork to be done and visits around various facilities to be made, so you can provide valuable assistance by helping them get where they want to be. You can speak with aged care facilities surrey hills to make sure they’re in safe, loving hands and take the burden of making arrangements off of their shoulders.
Keep the contact going. You may feel like calling once or twice a month is frequent enough contact for your elderly relatives, but in reality they would likely appreciate far more contact than that. Try to make a habit of calling them frequently just to check in and ask how their day is going. This is especially important if they’re living alone or have just been through something tough. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to give them a call, especially at important times like birthdays, holidays, and anniversary dates.
Involve them in family events. Don’t assume that just because somebody is older, they don’t want to be included in events with younger members of your family. Even if they’re likely to decline the invitation, make a point of inviting them to birthday parties, holiday get-togethers, and family meals. It will help keep them connected to the family and make them to feel less isolated.
Find activities they’ll enjoy. If your relative lives nearby, seek out hobby groups, clubs, and activities that they may be interested in and ask if they’d like to check it out. You can even go along with them if your relative is nervous about showing up somewhere for the first time, or simply point them in the direction of an event they might appreciate. If you see an advert for a play or movie that you know they may find interesting, offer to take them along so they have a chance to get out and have fun.
Get talking. Sometimes, elderly people just appreciate having someone sit down with them and chat about happy memories from the past. Go for a visit at aged care facility and bring along some old photo albums and family videos so you can sit together and talk about your shared memories. If they’re very frail they may have difficulty remembering certain things, but will hopefully still find pleasure in connecting with you and perhaps sparking certain happy memories. If nothing else, they’ll appreciate that you took the time to sit with them and demonstrate your love in a clear, practical way.