Moving to senior living in Ocoee doesn’t mean you need to lose contact with your loved ones. Indeed, the maintenance- and worry-free lifestyle may provide even more time to enjoy your sunset years with those close to you. Whether you live in an assisted living or memory care community, family members of all ages are most welcome to visit. Here are some of the many benefits of having grandkids visit.
Increase Socialization
Studies indicate that loneliness and social isolation contribute to a higher mortality rate. Spending meaningful time with grandchildren can promote socialization and enhance meaning for older individuals. Whether it’s reading them their favorite story, strolling outdoors, playing a game, or watching a movie, there are plenty of ways seniors and younger family members can connect. Often, youngsters enjoy hearing tales about their grandparent’s youth. This provides opportunities for seniors to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce.
Develop Skills
Spending time with grandchildren provides plenty of opportunities for intergenerational learning. While you’ll likely have lots of useful skills and much wisdom to share with your grandchildren, it’s likely they’ll be able to help you enhance certain skills, too. Bond over technology as your grandchildren teach you how to make video calls, play online games and use social networking while opening up further opportunities to connect virtually outside of their visits.
Enhance Mental Well-Being
Spending time together is beneficial for both grandparents and grandchildren. Research has found that strong bonds between the generations improve psychological and emotional wellness for everyone. It can lower rates of stress and depression and boost the mood.
Support Cognitive Function
Enjoying time with inquisitive kids can help seniors to maintain and boost their own cognitive function. Answering questions, sharing knowledge, playing games, and doing puzzles together can nurture brain health for both generations. Additionally, particularly relevant for seniors in a memory care community, intergenerational activities have been found to have a positive effect on people with dementia.
Promote Physical Activity
Spending time with younger relatives can encourage older individuals to be more active and avoid a sedentary lifestyle. A child’s energy can be infectious, and grandparents often find themselves moving around more when enjoying activities with grandchildren. From merrily kicking a ball around and gardening to throwing a Frisbee and walking through nature, being with children can help grandparents boost their fitness, stamina, strength, and balance.
Reduce Ageism
When grandchildren form positive bonds with their grandparents and enjoy spending time together, it helps to foster understanding and build tolerance between people of different ages. In turn, this can reduce wider incidents of age-based discrimination.
Strengthen Bonds with Your Grandkids
As well as enhancing relations with the grandkids, spending time with the younger members of the family can also strengthen bonds with your children. As your own kids watch their kids having fun, it can create warm feelings and happiness. Also, from a practical point of view, you may help your children greatly by watching the grandkids for a short period if they have errands to run or appointments to attend.
Essentially, encouraging visits from the grandkids has many plus points. At Inspired Living, family members are always welcome to join you for meals, ideal if the grandchildren plan to stay all day. You can arrange private dining, too, for special occasions. There’s no reason to miss a single special birthday or significant milestone. Contact us to learn more about enjoying a fulfilled life and arrange a tour of our vibrant community.
