New Year’s Resolutions so often follow the same structure. This year, make yours a little bit different by setting resolutions that will change both 2010 and the years to come in your future.

1. Help other seniors in your community – younger generations often volunteer to work with senior’s in hospitals and senior centers, but provide companionship to your peers by reading or socializing with them in these settings

2. Focus on eating well – give up those convenience items, and find a way to incorporate at least one new healthy item into your meal routine daily

3. Socialize – it’s not uncommon for seniors to shy away from social activities later in life. Don’t let this happen to you – join a social group with other seniors. A book club, exercise class, craft lesson or other activity will keep you connected

4. Organize your life – organizing your affairs for future care and even a will is an important goal. You can also take the opportunity to organize other aspects. Clean your house, declutter and donate the items you don’t need to charity

5. Find help if you need it – hire a senior home care service company to fill in the gaps (any areas in life you struggle with) as needed, or ask for help from family and friends

6. Stay connected with technology - if you don’t have a computer, 2010 is a great year to get one or learn how to use all of its features. Use email, instant messenger and other social networking sites to stay connected with loved ones around the world

Via: wickedlocal.com

Image Source: sxc.hu

Buying a gift for a senior can be a challenge. You want to present them with something that has a personal touch, but you do not want to give them something that cannot be used. It takes a lot of thought to come up with the perfect gift for any senior. The following list contains ten ideas that may help this holiday season when you are shopping for a senior.

1. If the senior lives alone, a Medical Emergency Notification System is a great gift to ensure their safety.

2. Cell Phones with Easy to see and use buttons.

3. If the senior is a pet owner, a pre-paid walking service or grooming is a great gift.

4. Gift certificates to the barber or hairdresser, especially if they will come to their home.

5. Pre-pay a season of lawn mowing and landscaping.

6. Wall clocks with a large face so they are easy to see.

7. If the senior is hearing impaired, a flashing light doorbell or telephone will be of great use.

8. Universal TV Remotes with large buttons.

9. Lap tables can be handy to eat on and can also provide a place for small items, such as remotes and eyeglasses.

10. Clothing with zippers or large zipper pulls.

Source: associatedcontent

Image Source: sxc.hu

Q – My sister cares for our elderly mother full-time. I want to come up with a great gift idea for the holidays that I know she’ll appreciate. What would you suggest?

A – Here are some great holiday gift ideas that can help senior caregivers to put the focus back on themselves!

1. Respite care – a break from caregiving responsibilities is appreciated by most caregivers, whether they’d admit it or not. Hire a service to provide respite or step in yourself, offering assistance once a month, or even just one time!

2. Entertainment gift certificates – send them for a night out at the movies or dinner with a gift certificate

3. Spa services – a day out at the spa can be rejuvenating for a female caregiver. Treat them to the chance to relax!

4. Subscription to a book club or movie service – this is something they can do to relax while providing care. Movies can be enjoyed with their senior, and books can be shared

5. Service to help them at home – caregivers have so much to take care of, help them maintain responsibilities of their own homes with cleaning services for inside the home or for yard work

Via: AgingCare

Image Source: www.sxc.hu/

Seniors with Alzheimer’s are notorious for wandering away from home, which is a big issue that senior caregivers need to deal with as it poses a great risk to the health and safety of the seniors that they care for, as well as others that might be affected. It’s important that caregivers take steps to preventing wandering in seniors with Alzheimer’s, and here are some useful tips:

1. Install alarms that tell you when external doors or windows are open – you need to give seniors with Alzheimer’s the freedom to move around their home, but even a home alarm system that chimes when doors or even windows are opened can warn you that your loved one might be wandering away

2. Disguise doors – if you don’t want seniors wandering between rooms or outside, paint rooms so the doors blend with the walls

3. Discourage wandering with signs – post signs on doorways inside the home, reminding seniors with Alzheimer’s what can be found on the other side. If there are rooms that seniors should not go in, or doorways that lead to outside, label them with “do not enter”!

4. Give seniors a safe area to walk around – seniors with Alzheimer’s often find themselves restless. Having a secure backyard or garden area can get them out of the home when they feel the need to wander in a safe manner

Via: About.com

It’s that time of year again, when seniors across America will be hopping in their cars, on trains, and in planes to visit family near and far over the holidays. While many seniors look forward to this time of year to come together with their families, going away from home can be stressful. To ensure that the holidays remain joyful, make sure that you try these travel planning trips for seniors:

1. Don’t travel with anything you don’t need – keeping your luggage as light as possible will avoid extra baggage charges and be easier to manage. Ship gifts ahead of time rather than travelling with them

2. Remember it will be busy – leave extra time, it’s likely you’ll encounter crowds, such as long lines when checking in at the airport

3. Keep costs low – by researching your travel options you can keep costs low. Don’t book the first flight you find, find the best price, and if staying in a hotel, find the best deal!

4. Travel with a companion – travelling can be less stressful if you go with a friend or family member, so try to avoid travelling alone

5. Double and triple check your packing – make sure you travel with all of the essentials, especially your medications, so check what you’ve packed before you travel

Via: About.com

Q – The time has come where I know my mom needs more help at home. I’d love to become her primary caregiver, but that just isn’t realistic for me, so the best I can do is try to coordinate her care. I want to make sure that the caregiver she’s with provides for her needs and ensures that she’s healthy and happy. Do you have any tips for selecting a caregiving agency?

A – Just because you won’t be providing care primarily, doesn’t mean that you’re not a caregiver; you’re playing a major role in the process in finding care for your mother, and here are some tips to help you through it!

1. Know what’s out there – to choose the best option, explore them all. Even if you have home care in mind, visiting a nursing home will only help to reassure you of your decision

2. Ask the opinion of others – the best feedback you will receive on home care places you’re exploring is from other trusted friends and family members who have been through the process

3. Interview someone at the service – before you even meet with a caregiver, interview someone in charge at the home care service about what they provide, and what their specific policies are

4. Ask about licensing – the home care service should have appropriate licenses as required by their jurisdiction; ask about this, and also find out if the home caregivers have any specific level of training

5. Be straight forward – to make sure that that important senior in your life receives adequate care, don’t sugar coat what you’re dealing with. If your loved one is difficult with certain tasks or activities, let them know so they can reassure you by talking about how they’d address these circumstances

Via: Family Caregiver Alliance

You might not expect the Mom from the Brady bunch who was the symbol of a classic American housewife to spearhead a project that focuses on technology, but that’s exactly what Florence Henderson is intending to do. She, like many other older adults, found herself terrified to use a computer, but with prompting from her children to get better connected for the sake of staying in touch, finally logged on only to find that it was hard to get the support she needed if she encountered a problem.

For seniors who did not grow up with computers a part of their daily lives like the younger generations, internet, email and social networking can all be intimidating to think about, little less to do. While family might be there to answer their questions and provide some level of support to teach seniors about technology use, that’s hard to do from a distance.

Florence Henderson’s company Floh Club addresses these issues with customer support available to seniors  18 hours a day, 7 days a week. It will be a subscription service with software that allows the support operators to access the senior’s computer remotely to walk them through the learning process on a visual manner. All team members are also selected specifically for the compassion, patience, and desire to help seniors learn!

Via: CNN

Halloween is almost here, and Thanksgiving, Hanukah and Christmas are just on the horizon – while many of us are gearing up to enjoy this time of year full of holiday experiences, one demographic can face a serious case of the Holiday Blues. For seniors, the holidays can be a trying time, since they can remind them of times spent with family and friends who are no longer around. If someone in your life seems to be suffering their way through the holidays, encourage them to try the following techniques:

• Don’t expect too much – if big family get togethers haven’t been a big part of holidays recently, don’t expect them or you’ll only face disappointment

• Don’t do things that are too stressful – holidays are meant to be a time of enjoyment, so if there are certain tasks that surround the holidays that stress you out, avoid them!

• Volunteer – surround yourself with others in the community by volunteering and giving back

• Don’t isolate yourself – when holidays aren’t the way they used to be, seniors might become isolated; join in on activities in the community, get together with friends and make sure you don’t have to be alone

• Maintain a healthy lifestyle – to keep your spirits up, take care of yourself. Exercise, eat well and limit  alcohol consumption

Sources:

1. 4Therapy

2. About.com

When there’s a big distance between grandparents and grandchildren, staying in touch and making a real connection doesn’t come easily. New technologies are allowing seniors to remain an important part of their young grandchildren’s lives, because they can focus more on the day to day rather than the big picture stuff. Instead of just telling their grandparent that they drew a picture in school that day, they can play show and tell using a webcam, bridging the gap in the distance on an emotional level.

Using a webcam is fairly simple, especially for today’s seniors who are already online, making use of new technology on a regular basis. Here are some tips for setting up a webcam and connecting with loved ones:

1. Get the webcam – many laptops that are sold today come with webcams, even a few computer monitors also have webcams built in. If your computer doesn’t have a webcam, you can buy one for as little as $20

2. Set it up – most webcams will come with software and drivers you can install to get it setup. Follow the instructions and put the webcam itself so it comfortably focuses on your face

3. Find a way to chat – to connect with grandchildren, you will need to both use the same type of program that supports webcam chat. Instant messengers like MSN and AOL have webcam chat, or other programs like Skype offer it as well. Choose one that will also be safe for your grandchild to use

Sources:

1. CowboyFrank

2. All Business

We’ve all heard a story in the news at some point, about a senior with Alzheimer’s or dementia wandering away from their Palm Desert home only to disappear for hours or sometimes days at a time while their loved ones frantically search, all the while concerned for their health and safety. Unfortunately, it’s a common phenomenon with 60% of seniors with Alzheimer’s getting lost at least once, either by wandering away from home or forgetting where they are or where they live when leaving to go on an errand.

GPS gadgets come with controversy, as many feel that it’s not appropriate to track the movement of elders 24/7 and compromising their independence, but with devices like the Ambulatory Tracking Shoes, it’s a question of safety. It’s okay to say that you won’t track someone you love who has Alzheimer’s, but the first time they wander away from home and get lost you might be singing another tune.

The shoes are set to go on sale in the spring, and Medicare might cover part of the $200 to $300 retail cost. Regardless, it’s a worthwhile investment for those who worry about the safety of their loved ones with Alzheimer’s, since their location will always be available, transmitted back to an active computer.

Would you feel comfortable using a device like this to help in the care of your senior with dementia? Or do you still stand by the argument that people just shouldn’t be tracked.

Via: Washington Post