How to Make the Most of Your Time with the Elderly

Before I had my daughter I worked for a senior care company for over a year. I started as a care giver doing hands on care with our elderly clients. We had all ranges of abilities, from clients who just needed someone to talk with to those clients that needed someone to bathe them. I became an on call manager in addition to care giving and answered phones after hours, dealing with client concerns. I then transitioned into the office doing staffing and worked directly with clients and their families. Based on my experiences with this company I have come up with a list of ways to interact with the elderly to better their lives and make the most of the moments we have with them.

As a care giver, I received the most praise and feedback from cooking with and for clients. Our clients and their families loved that a care giver would take the time to prepare something for them. A good way to start is to have the client or their family pass on some favorite recipes. I find this is especially appreciated if the person can longer cook for themselves. Instead of having to eat something someone else made, they get something they like cooked for them. You can also find out what foods they like and cook a recipe for them. The website Allrecipes.com has a great feature that allows you to do an ingredient search for recipes. People that are able to help love it when you encourage them to help with preparing a meal.

Games are also a great way to bond with someone. I had a client who loved Chinese Checkers but hadn't played in years because no one knew how to play. I did a quick Internet search, printed out some instructions and learned to play. You could also introduce new board or card games if the person is able to learn. Stores are now carrying large print word finds and crossword puzzles that are great for those with sight problems.

Gardening is something that I have found almost every person either enjoys doing or looking at the finished product. Having a client assist you with planting things is a great way to get them involved in something. If you're with someone that isn't able to help you can have them sit nearby and watch you plant and help decide where things should go. Or you can plant things near a window that they're able to see out of when inside.

There are two good ways to help the elderly stay in touch with their family and friends. The first is to help them write letters and cards. They especially appreciate when birthdays, anniversaries and other memorable dates come up and they're not able to write a note to someone. The second thing is to help create a photo album with their pictures in it. Take an afternoon and pull out pictures and ask the client about them and what they remember about that time. Write down their memories to go along with the pictures in the album. Clients and family members really appreciate this especially if the person has Alzheimer's and will soon start to forget these memories.

If none of these previous ideas work or fit with your client then sit down and learn about the person. Find out what their life is like, where they've lived, what they've done, anything to learn about who they are. I had a client that was a retired naval officer. He was so proud of it and had a room decorated in his career. He proudly wore his navy ball cap whenever we left the house. When football season started I played the Navy versus Army game and rooted for Army even though I was from a Navy family. He had so much fun cheering on his time and teasing me against mine. Often times learning about them will help you find something unique to that person.

For a client that is a little less active sometimes bringing over a movie to watch is a good way to interact. Find out what they like to watch or an old movie they loved but haven't seen in years. I had a client who loved Johnny Cash and played his Cd's all the time. When the new move "Walk the Line" came out about Johnny Cash's life, I rented it and took it over for him to watch. He was fascinated to learn about this singer he knew nothing about before.