Older Americans Month - Fun Ways for Your Kids to Celebrate With Your Parents

Posted: 5/25/2018 12:26 PM by Interim HealthCare
For 2018's Older American's Month, the theme is “Engage at Every Age.” The goal is to get everyone out and engaging within the community. Engaging activities can help a person, teach someone something, or help the environment.
 
How can you get your kids to join your parents? That's a question that many adults struggle with. Teens and senior citizens don't always connect. It can make it hard to find activities everyone will enjoy.
 
Set Up Spring Gardens
 
May is the perfect time to set up summer gardens. Your parents may not be able to do the heavy lifting, but your teen can. Get your teen to run a rototiller through the garden beds. Your teen can carry bags of mulch to spread. With a larger garden in place, leftover can help the community by getting donated to the local food bank.
 
Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
 
Everyone enjoys puppies or kittens. Have your parent join grandchildren at a local shelter to volunteer for an afternoon or sign up for a regular shift. Volunteers are needed to walk dogs, feed the animals, and clean up. Playing with animals is also great for getting animals socialized and ready for new homes.
 
Sort Books for Charity
 
If your parent has a lot of books, the U.S. troops can use them. Your teen can help your parents go through online listings through organizations like Operation Paperbacks. Once your parents know what books are desired, they can sort through their library to find books to donate to military members who are stationed overseas.
 
Bake Together
 
Can your kids cook? Gather the family for an afternoon of baking. The baked goods that you don't need can go to places looking for donations, such as hospice centers and soup kitchens.
 
Hire Caregivers When You Can't Be There
 
Throughout the year, there will be times your parent needs help. It might be arthritis pain keeping your parent from vacuuming the stairs. It could be changing eyesight preventing your parent from driving to a store. Your parent's worsening memory skills might make it hard to remember to take medications or pay bills.
 
Hire caregivers to make sure your parent has the necessary support for activities of daily living. Your mom may only need someone to help with laundry and housework once a week. Your dad may need someone to prepare meals each day. Caregivers come on the schedule you prefer and help only where needed. Learn more about scheduling and services today.

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