As our loved ones age, they begin to find that they cannot do the things that they used to do. Sure, there are the occasional outliers who will be running marathons into their eighties, but more likely, your loved ones will need to slow down their lifestyles. And when that happens, it can mean having to adjust and having to find new ways to exercise the mind that still provide enjoyment to your aging loved one.
That doesn’t mean that the aged can’t have fun, however. There are plenty of ways to enjoy an activity and to also use it to stimulate the mind.
Here are just a few such activities:
Sudoku
Yes, it’s not just something fun to do on an airplane! Sudoku is a great way to keep the mind engaged while also getting the joy of puzzle solving. You start with a series of grids (often 9 by 9 block grids), into which you must assign a value from 1 to 9. In each 9 by 9 block grid, the value will only be used once, and in each row and column, a value will only be used once. These are great ways to keep the mind elastic, and there’s a lot of pride to be found in solving these deceptively complex puzzles. Advanced Sudoku has even bigger grids for more challenge!
Video Games
Prior to the advent of the Wii, the idea of a whole family gaming together was something that existed only in the dreams of advertisers. The Wii is a great way to not only keep your elderly loved ones mentally engaged in their activity but also to keep them physically involved! As virtual reality hardware becomes more affordable, this will be another great opportunity to keep your aging loved ones moving and mentally engaged in a pastime.
Crossword Puzzles
Crossword puzzles are a great way to work the part of the mind that is related to recollection. Some of the clues can also be somewhat complex riddles that will help to engage the mind as well. There’s also nothing like the sense of accomplishment that can be attained when your aging loved one solves the complex and interlocking crossword puzzle. Finally, writing something with regularity will exercise the fine motor skills of your loved one, which can degrade without regular use.
Cooking
Depending on what is afflicting your aging loved one, this may require supervision, but cooking is a great activity, and a fun one, that they could engage in. It works the fine motor skills, it works the brain when they have to measure the ingredients and calculate the change in ingredients relative to the portion size, and it is just an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. And hopefully, it leaves you and your loved one with something that to enjoy. Cooking is definitely a hobby that more than one person can enjoy.
Reading
Reading is a nice activity for anyone of any age. With reading, your aging loved one can explore worlds that they’ve never seen, or they can relieve moments in their life. Another great idea is to have them keep a journal of their days, both to stimulate the mind and their memories, and to keep a record of their day for them to look back on. It’s also a very quiet activity that doesn’t need supervision but may need large print books.
Just because a member or members of your family are getting on in years doesn’t mean that they can’t still have fun. This list is by no means an exhaustive list of things that they may enjoy, either, just a simple list for anyone looking for a quick activity that their aging relative can partake in. Most important of all, listen to what your relative is saying that they would like to do, and take it into consideration! Maybe they’re more the outdoors type, and they would like to garden, for example. Be sure that whatever they end up doing, it’s something that they enjoy, and perhaps even something that others can enjoy along with them.