Getting Involved in Local Senior-Friendly Activities

Seniors living a balanced and high-quality life are often mentally stable, socially outgoing, and physically healthy. However, it takes proactive planning for seniors to achieve a high-quality lifestyle.

Help ensure that your senior is actively involved in activities and events that are good for their wellbeing. We are talking fun group programs, senior clubs, trips and many others. And the best thing is that the Johnson County area offers all of these and more.

If you are looking for helpful ideas that are senior friendly, we've put together a list of activities to help you get started.

1. Group Exercise Programs

Group exercise programs are often fun and therapeutic. They help improve seniors' physical health, flexibility, and agility. According to the World Health Organization, seniors should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly.

Group exercise programs are also a great way to deal with loneliness, sometimes common among seniors. Yoga, walking, and aerobics are awesome group exercises in which seniors can engage. However, as a safety measure, you want to ensure all activities in the program are senior-friendly. A case in point is walking and aerobics, which may not fit arthritic seniors.

2. Seniors' Clubs

Enrolling your senior into a seniors' club can help them grow mentally, socially, and physically. The best senior clubs offer a variety of engagement activities. While some focus on general interests, others focus on specific interests.

Depending on what you believe works for your elderly parent, you can choose either option. Gardening, indoor and outdoor games, reading, and knitting are great activities you can expect at a senior's club.

3. Field Trips

Seniors shouldn't spend all their time indoors, whether staying with you or in their own home. So once in a while, it's best to take them out on field trips and excursions within and outside the city.

This way, they can socialize with other seniors and get new perspectives on life. In addition, museums and nature parks are some of the incredibly fascinating destinations to consider. Lastly, you can undertake these activities privately or collaborate with community and peer engagement groups.

4. Music Therapy

Good music is entertaining, educational, and inspiring. It's also therapeutic and comforting. Here is what Barbara Crowe, the Director of Music Therapy at Arizona State University, had to say about it:

"(Music therapy) can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and interaction, between chronic pain and comfort — between demoralization and dignity."

This is why music therapy is great for seniors. They need a rejuvenation of spirit, mental health, and physical strength at their age, and music therapy can help with that.

In addition, there are plenty of ways to accomplish this. For example, they can actively participate in live bands if they're originally musical instrument players and singers. Alternatively, they can attend music classes, concerts, and music extravaganzas.

5. Summer Camps

Summer camps are common among kids. But wait! This doesn't mean seniors can't participate in camping activities. On the contrary, summer camps are awesome and full of fun activities, helping seniors feel young again.

The best part is some summer camp programs are specifically for seniors and have activities suited for the elderly. Swimming and kayaking are great examples of fun activities seniors can engage in at a summer camp.

6. Get an Emotional Support Dog

Emotional support dogs serve almost the same role as other pets. However, they're more special and must be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional. Owning one eases a person's anxiety and gives them a focus in life. Your elderly parents will be grateful to have one if they love pets.

Focus on Improving Quality of Life

Senior Helpers Overland Park provides companion care services to help seniors thrive independently on their own. We use a Quality of Life Activity Planner to explore activities the senior either enjoys doing or would like to do more of. Our caregivers can assist seniors in building more of those activities into their daily routines to improve mental wellbeing. Contact us to learn more about how we can help!