How to Help the Elderly
Stop by and visit every so often, and ask them if they need anything. Elderly people get sick and lonely often. Just knowing that someone cares will brighten their day.
Ask them if they'd like for you to bring a pet by for them to give affection to. My husband and I used to bring pets to the nursing home his father stayed at and every week we brought a cat, kitten or puppy. The elderly people were all smiles holding these little pets and giving them affection.
Cook them a meal on occasion, most older folks don't eat a balanced diet. They have limited funds and can't always buy all that is needed for a well rounded meal and often just have the most convenient thing they can make. Bring a covered dish over, they will appreciate the thought and look forward to your visits.
Take them to get their hair done, or to the barbershop. Most elderly people like to look spiffy and well groomed just like the rest of us. This will lift their spirits and they will love you for it.
Offer to clean their home and do some yard work. Most elderly are physically not able to do most of the chores needed to keep their home as they'd like it. This can make them feel loved and cared for.
Give lots of hugs. You never know how much they may miss human contact. Affection is craved at any age.
Published by dawn
Hello, I'm a Certified Interior Decorator, married 24 years and mother to 3 children. Helping people is what brings me the most happiness. When I am not writing I love watching old silent movies, playing wi... View profile
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10 Comments
Post a CommentSylvie... go hug your freakin' cats! All 100 of them, cuz no one else will!
Sylvie, your comment was deleted because I truly feel that it would discourage people perhaps in showing acts of kindness to those less fortunate. Since I am addressing people that are in the position to help a family member or close friend, this article is about them, not you. You took something that was intended for those who are seeking ways to help and made it about yourself, and how you feel. I'd rather be the type of person that offers help and gets told "no thank you", than to not offer it and find out it was so needed. A person always has the option of saying "no thank you". I have seen countless of elderly people left to rot in nursing homes. Forgotten and unloved by family members. You are welcome to your perspective, but this article is not about you. Its about the ones that do want to help, and those that would appreciate the offer.
Aggraffe'!!
Sylvie... I did read your comment she deleted and I do not blame her. Her suggestions of offering to help elderly people is that... an offer. This does not mean that she or anybody else would barge into your home and start hugging and kissing on you. Obviously, you have more than just physical ailments. It's a shame that you would go and tell someone that trying to help another person is an awful thing. You come off as a bitter older person, and prove my points exactly. Shame on you for saying that someone was being insulting. Your first comment was just that, ma'am. I don't blame her for deleting your comment. Your views are not the same as the majority of elderly people. Let me repeat, Your views ARE NOT the same as the majority of elderly people. Your "perspective" in your fist comment was that no one should go out and try to "offer" i.e. as in something that can be refused, to be nice and helpful to those who can't help themselves. I am through with you. I hope that I am not as unc
Richard, since Dawn deleted my original comment, you have no idea why I commented again. I told her that I wanted to offer another perspective, from the point of view of a senior who lives alone, likes it, and would prefer not have people deciding, even with the best intentions, what I might or might not need. I don't need the research; I live it. For your information, I live on Social Security, and I have quite a few chronic physical problems, so I'm not speaking out of ignorance or because I'm lving in some kind of ivory tower.
Dawn, see the above. I'll add that I'm a widow and had to struggle just to survive until I reached the age where I could draw Social Security, since I wasn't physically able to work. Lucky?
Choosing to delete my comment is like saying I don't exist - only the kind of elderly people you talk about exist. Deleting comments and then making insulting assumptions about the person who made them makes your concern about others seem false.
I'm through. Fee
Oh, my goodness. I don't know what this Sylvie woman's problem is, but apparently she has never had to deal with an elderly person with alzheimers. I am an investigator, and I go to many homes and interview people. A lot of elderly people, and I being a complete stranger to them, they are quick to tell me how nice it is to speak to someone because they are lonely. This woman is speaking of the minority of elderly in America and she has not done her research properly. She most likely is someone who has money and has been lucky enough not to have bad physical or mentl conditions. Just ignore her, Dawn. Your article is inspirational and there are more people who will agree with you than disagree with you as this poor soul has. God Bless.
I wonder too if you are going to every person that wrote a similar article and raking them over the coals for daring to suggest doing something kind for someone less fortunate.
I don't mind being challenged. However, challenging someone that is suggesting random acts of kindness is like kicking a dog because it licked your hand.
Obviously Sylvie, I am addressing the hundreds of seniors that are not as lucky as you are. I have a mother that was recently widowed in 2004, and was suddenly thrust into a lifestyle where she was living on a fixed income, and she lived in a community of many elderly that were abandoned by their families, struggling to make ends meet and so very lonely. So my article doesnt apply to you. I think if you did your research you would know that the majority of the elderly in this country are going through these particular problems and I only suggest a few ways that the family member or friend can help. Instead of chastising me about my article being a stereotype of the elderly, why not go visit a nursing home somewhere and find out what a lot of the elderly have to say there? Since you are so much better off than many elderly are, why not offer your support to them? Just because you don't want help and don't appreciate kind gestures doesn't mean it would not be appreciated by another. Cha
It's interesting that you deleted my comment even though I stated right at the beginning that it wasn't intended to be a criticism of your article. Is the fact that this advice isn't suitable or acceptable to every senior (and I am a senior) objectionable to you? Your article contains a lot of stereotypes, so I can only assume that you have a view of the elderly that you don't want to be challenged. Not all seniors live on fixed incomes. Not all want their neighbors poking into their lives. Not all are lonely or helpless, but that seems to be what you prefer to believe. Every contributor to AC has the right to delete comments, but it's a comment on you when you can't even allow a different point of view.