Do you feel like you need to keep your elderly parents busy? Are you concerned that your parents are bored out of their mind? As they advance in age, you might notice a small decline in their cognitive function. This is especially noticeable if they’re home and bored all day long. Eventually you start feeling guilty about not spending enough time with them or keeping them entertained

It can be hard to keep up with supporting your parents while worrying about doing everything that you’re doing for yourself and for your children. Keeping your elderly parents busy help you feel better about being too busy for them. Here are 10 good ways to keep elderly parents busy.

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  1. Taking up a hobby is a good way for your elderly parents to keep certain skills sharp. A lot of hobbies can be done from the comfort of their own home. This minimizes the frequency of you being worried when they step out. Your elderly parents can take up knitting, gardening, scrapbooking, bird watching, photography, or learning a new instrument.

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  1. Reading is a great way to keep their minds stimulated. Read helps their brains with communication, focus, and memory. Reading can also be done from anywhere they desire. It is an amazing way to pass the time. They can read novels, magazines, scientific journals, or even newspapers. They can join local book clubs or book trading clubs and also emerge with brand new friends.
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  1. Volunteering allows them to take part in a very rewarding way to pass the time. Your parents will take ownership of taking care of something. Volunteering provides people with a sense of purpose. It also gives them something to look forward to. This can help reduce boredom and may delay the development of dementia. There are many places an elderly parent can volunteer. Check out your local food pantries, churches, zoos, libraries, hospitals, and animal shelters. Volunteering is another great way to make new friends.
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  1. Exercising can help add years to their life in addition to helping them be less bored. Exercise helps make the heart and bones stronger. It helps reduce the risk of chronic disease and manage chronic disease in those who already have it. It also helps promote good mental health in addition to good physical health. There are so many wins for exercising!
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  1. Gardening brings more life into this world while offering your parents a stress-relieving way to stay busy. All they need is a pack of seeds and a garden bed to get started. Dollar stores and home improvement stores have seed packets. If you have time, you can also take them to your local garden center (support small businesses!) and see if there are any sprouted plants they would like to purchase. If your parents are unable to crouch, you can purchase an elevated garden bed for them. That way, there is minimal bending required and it’s friendly for those parents that are in wheelchairs. Don’t forget to purchase seeds that are in season. That way, when they plant them, they won’t spend a long time wondering why it’s not growing. If you like fresh fruits and vegetables, you might buy them seeds for herbs and small edible plants. An added bonus is that all the extras harvests will likely go to you.
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  1. Solving puzzles is a fun way to keep your parents’ minds sharp. There are many puzzles that can be played solo. Trivia type of games like crosswords will allow your parents to actively use their retrieval “muscles” in their brain allowing them to practice using their memory. There are other games like Sudoku and word search puzzles that allow their brain to look for something and make deductions. Your traditional jigsaw puzzle is also an excellent way to keep those puzzle solving skills sharp. Start from a lower number and work your way up until you can gauge an approximate number of jigsaw puzzle pieces that work with your parents’ level of comfort.
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  1. Writing is a fantastic, yet very under appreciated way to keep elderly parents busy. Have your parents write down your favorite recipes so that you can revisit your favorite foods from your childhood. You can also have them write real life stories of things that they have experienced, be it funny or happy or sad.
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  1. Taking a short course is a great way to vitalize their minds and also meet new people. They can take small courses at a local community college. And outside of the courses, they might get a little bit of homework too. Some libraries and non-profits may also provide courses (for example an introduction to Android/iPhones or how to use a laptop) that work to keep elderly parents busy. You may find a local gardening course on your local senior resource list or something like Event Brite where you can sift events by type and location. With all the advances in technology, there are a wealth of online courses where they can learn just about anything. After all, we are never too old to learn something new.
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  1. Watching a movie is a great way to be entertained while passing the time. Movies are getting increasingly longer. The average movie length in 2023 was approximately 2 hours and 23 minutes. And that’s not even counting the movie previews! Matinee movies still run significantly cheaper than evening showings. In some cases, it can be half the price. Watching a movie doesn’t require the presence of someone else. Therefore, it is easily enjoyable for a single parent too.
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  1. Baking is easier than ever. There are a number of basic baking books that have very easy steps. Baking books are also a good holiday gift that they can receive every year and every baking book will be different from the previous. Consider having your parents share their newfound dessert-making skills with the rest of the family to make dinner times easier on you.

Hope this list was able to help. Remember you are not 100% responsible for keeping your parents entertained. This list is a good guide on ideas that can help keep your elderly parents busy without you having to be there every step of the way.

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