Activities for elderly to enjoy with grandchildren

A recent programme broadcast by Channel 4 set out to explore the increasing isolation of older people within our communities and measure the impact of inter-generational interaction.

Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds brought together four-year-old children with people in their 80s. The elderly people were measured on their cognition, mood and depression, as well as physical abilities including balance and the ability to get up and walk at the start, middle and end of the experiment.

They all showed huge improvement with 80% of the elderly participants showing improvement in their physical abilities, grip strength and physical activity.

If you have an elderly loved-one who struggles to spend time or find something in common with their grandchildren or even great grandchildren, then we’ve put together a couple of ideas for things they can do together to help improve inter-generational relationships.

Arts and crafts 

All sorts of arts and crafts can bring the elderly and younger generations together. Your elderly relative can pass on any knowledge or skills when it comes to knitting, sewing or crochet or maybe the two can simply draw, paint or make a scrapbook together to document great memories.

Gardening 

A favourite with youngsters as they get to dig the soil, plant and water seeds and watch them grow. It’s also great for the elderly as it gets them outside and doing some gentle exercise. The two can plant something together and see it grow or have a competition to see who can grow the biggest, brightest or tallest flower.

Technology 

It’s surprising what two different generations can learn from each other. Having a child teach an elderly person about technology is a great way to get them to bond. It doesn’t have to be anything difficult, it can simply be how to get onto a computer or even play a game.

Get the photo albums out 

Surely any grandchild will want to see funny photos of their parents when they were younger? Photo albums are another great way for the generations to get to know each other better. The photos will bring back memories for an elderly person, helping brain functions, and the youngster can learn more about the history of their family.