How To Help Your Parents Beat Loneliness
Loneliness can take a toll on anyone, but especially the elderly. If you live away from your parents it can be difficult to make sure that they’re getting out of the house, or interacting with other people. In this article we take a look at a few ways you can help them beat lonliness which will have a big impact on their mental and physical health.
Over the past few years, in particular, more and more studies have come out about the epidemic of loneliness that affects many people in life, particularly those who are older. If you are worried about your own parents, there are many things that you can do to play a positive role in their lives. Here, we will talk about just a few of them.
Maintain Frequent Contact
The first and most obvious action that you can take to help with the loneliness of your parents is to maintain frequent contact with them. Perhaps your current level of contact only involves a monthly phone call, but they are bound to be happier if you can increase this. If you can increase the number of personal visits that you make to them, this is even better. Or, if you can visit for a longer period of time, they may well appreciate this. However, even hearing your voice on a more regular basis could make a big difference.
Check Out Their Living Situation
If your parents are quite isolated in their current living situation, there are plenty of ways that you can help them out. Maybe you could look into entertainment and social options in the area in which they already live. Otherwise, you could check out alternative living options which provide a more social setting such as Porthaven care homes. Even though your parents may not want you to directly influence their lives, there is no harm in making suggestions to them.
Take Them Along to Events
Next up, you could always search for events that you think your parents may enjoy and invite them along. There are plenty of activities which are best enjoyed with company including concerts, theatre, festivals, and other social events. Try to choose things to do which match up with their interests that they are likely to enjoy. You could always arrange the logistics for them to go if you are unable to yourself.
Teach Them About Tech or Enroll Them in a Class
So many modern forms of communication revolve around technology, but many older people feel left behind in this regard. Even teaching them to use basic programs like Skype can make all the difference when it comes to maintaining a close relationship, particularly over long distances. If you can’t get involved with teaching them by yourself, you could always enrol them in a technology class which gets them clued up on all the basics.
Loneliness is a problem which can strike all sorts of people in life, but older adults tend to suffer the most. So, these four things are just a few suggestions which can help to significantly improve the life of your parents. Even if they are reluctant at first, a lot of older people will be appreciative of the efforts that you make to improve their lives. Ultimately, it may not be all of these things which prove to be useful, but finding the ones that can make such a big difference to your parents’ quality of life.
