Inthese days at home, it is advisable to take advantage of digital media to communicate with our seniors and this can be an opportunity for them to learn more about this and to accompany them, so we give the following recommendations:
1. Use applications that allow video calls.
The most popular and easy to use are FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. There are all kinds of online options for talking to family and friends. And you don't have to be tech-savvy. Doing the basics is easy and, for most people, fun. Explaining it to them can be a little difficult, but that's normal, they're not familiar with it, but the steps to follow in each application are similar to a conventional phone call and with enough patience you can achieve a new learning curve and open up a whole new horizon of possibilities for the senior.
2. Staying active from home
Do not forget that for the elderly the most important thing is to feel accompanied by their family. Make a call from time to time, to know how they are doing, ask them what they are doing or if they need support with anything will be of vital importance. This will prevent them from thinking only about what is happening. Remember that monitoring the mental health of the whole family is critical in these times.
3. Help them enjoy the past.
Although it is important to keep informed of national and international events, it is not advisable that our parents or grandparents spend their time only watching the news, as this would increase their anxiety and worry. For the rest of the day, there are many other cable TV programs and a large catalog of streaming services that you can suggest your parents or grandparents watch. But if they can't find anything to entertain them on these platforms on YouTube they will find a lot of content from their era that might interest them, such as from the golden age of cinema or other American series from the 50's and 60's that are on the platform.
4. Digital family reunion!
With the same FaceTime and Zoom applications or any other you can organize video calls between several people, so it is possible for you to accompany your seniors from wherever you are. If they have friends and you know their contacts, locate them and help them communicate with each other. If the older adult used to frequent a religious community or cult, find a way to put them in contact with these organizations through social networks and other digital channels.
If they need support during this difficult time, at Verdeza we can provide them with a safe environment and social interaction activities. If for any reason, it is difficult for you to keep your family members at home, consider Verdeza as an excellent option.
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