Daily Activities for Dementia Patients
If you are taking care of a senior loved one with dementia full time or just visiting for a weekend, finding activities is essential for everyone. You may wonder what suitable activities for dementia patients are, and you can honestly include your senior loved one in a lot of your normal daily activities if they are up for it! Here are some daily activities for dementia patients that range from outdoor and indoor to varying ability levels. No matter what you do, have fun with your senior loved one!
First, Consider Their Interests And Skills
Many aging seniors or seniors with dementia are willing to participate in almost any activity when they are in good company. To make them feel more special, though, consider what their interests, skills, and favorite pastimes include when planning daily activities. This won’t be hard if you’re a close family member, but it wouldn’t hurt to talk to other relatives and friends about what your senior enjoys doing. With this in mind, let’s look at some ideas for daily activities for dementia patients that will benefit them cognitively and provide care-free memories with the ones they love most.
Listen to Music
Music has incredible memory benefits for dementia patients, and it’s a fun activity to engage in. Listen to songs from their favorite years or classical music, if that’s more soothing. If your senior loved one is willing, try singing songs together or playing instruments.
Painting and Drawing
Painting or drawing can be a relaxing and engaging activity for dementia patients. Use a large board or paper and let them express themselves without boundaries. This activity can be as organized or freestyle as your senior family member wants. Even your youngest family members can participate in this activity with your senior loved one.
Look At Family Albums And Pictures
This activity can start great conversations and stories. Try to find pictures from their childhood or when they were a young adult. Looking at old family albums could get your senior family member talking and reliving their favorite times.
Puzzles & Games
There is such a wide range of puzzles and games in varying difficulties that you can find the perfect fit for your senior. Card games, board games, and puzzles are excellent ways to spend an afternoon and have needed social interaction. Puzzles and games like Solitaire are good independent activities too. Best of all, memory games can stimulate the mind and improve memory.
Light Home Tasks
Your senior loved one wants to feel needed and maintain their independence. Even as their dementia progresses, they can still benefit from daily responsibilities. This will largely depend on their physical and mental ability, but consider some home tasks they could be a part of. Folding laundry and washing dishes are good examples.
Visit a Park
Whenever possible, get outside with your senior loved one. The change of scenery is especially beneficial to dementia patients too. The outings can be very simple and low-stress. For example, visit a park to take a short walk, just sit on a bench, or watch kids or dogs play. Your senior loved one with dementia will look forward to this outing every day!
Read a Favorite Book
Reading aloud from your loved one’s favorite book is a great activity. The story will engage them, and it helps improve their concentration. You can also play an audiobook or even a podcast your senior family member may be interested in. Reading aloud to your senior loved one with dementia or listening to an audiobook is a perfect activity for a rainy day.
Bake A Treat Or Cook A Meal
Food always brings people together, so it makes for a perfect activity for your senior loved one! For dementia patients, make their favorite dessert or meal from their childhood or years past. This is another excellent activity to involve kids or other family members. Then, everyone will enjoy sitting around a table and eating what they just made.
Watch a Favorite TV Show or Movie
Bring back your senior loved one’s favorite shows or movies to spend an afternoon or evening. With YouTube and other streaming services, you can find almost any show or movie from a past decade. If your senior with dementia was a big sports fan, find a past game from their favorite team or watch a current game together.
The progression of dementia is indeed difficult for your senior loved one and the family to encounter on a daily basis. However, these everyday activities help give your senior loved one with dementia purpose, independence, social interaction, and fun. Find activities you all love to do together, and you will make new memories and relive old ones.
You may be at the point where you need more than just daily activity help with your loved one with dementia. Caregivers United provides specialized in-home care for dementia patients that gives the exact care your senior needs and your family peace of mind. Our passion at Caregivers United is to provide the highest quality care for your senior loved ones whenever they need it. Schedule a free courtesy visit with our qualified team today!