Home Care in West Windsor NJ

Anyone who has ever been a caregiver for aging parents knows how much sitting around and waiting can be involved in a normal care day. From sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office waiting for their appointment, to sitting at the pharmacy waiting for their prescriptions to be ready, to waiting at restaurants, to just sitting around waiting for one of them to use the restroom, a good portion of your day may be at once active and inactive – you are not actually doing anything while you wait, but you do not have the option of filling that time with any other meaningful task because you have to wait. When this happens, you could end up with frustrated, bored, and irritable seniors. Rather than letting that take a smooth day and turn it into a nightmare, prepare for all of the waiting in life by creating an on-the-go entertainment bag for your seniors and their home care provider to enjoy.

An on-the-go entertainment bag is all about having items on hand that enable your parents to stay mentally active when they are unable to be physically active, which helps to curb the boredom and frustration of waiting around, while also supporting cognitive processing and memory skills.

Put together a bag or suggest some of these items for your aging parents and their in home health care services provider to pick out and include in their entertainment bag:

• Puzzle books. There is nothing quite like a good puzzle to encourage quiet patience and concentration. Even better, these books only require the book and a pencil or pen to complete, making them fast, easy, and inexpensive options for the entertainment bag. Look for all types of puzzles to address your parents’ cognitive capabilities, limitations, and interests. Some puzzle options include Sudoku, logic, crossword, and word search. Most are available in a wide range of topics to appeal to different people, and come in large print for easier seeing.

• Books. A waiting room is always a great place to catch up on your reading. Bring along a couple of paperback books, or invest in a good e-reader such as a Kindle or Nook, or download an ebook reader app to your smartphone or tablet and load it up with books from different authors and genres so you can pick the one that appeals to you on any given day.

• Pad and pencil. There is a virtually endless array of options for entertainment when you have a pad and pencil available to you. Just a simple stack of paper and a writing instrument allows you to write down lists of things you need to do, jot down blog ideas, play simple games such as tic-tac-toe and hangman, or doodle and sketch.

• Deck of cards. If there is a flat surface in the area where you are waiting, a deck of cards can instantly turn into a wide array of games for single players as well as groups. Play a game of solitaire or join your parents for some Go Fish, Old Maid, Rummy, or any number of other games you all enjoy.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring home care services in West Windsor, NJ or the surrounding areas, please call Independence Home Care today at 609-208-1111 for more information.