An adult day care center is often a good middle ground between a nursing home and living independently. If your loved one is no longer able to stay by themselves during the day, either due to safety concerns or for some other reason, you can send them to adult day care during every business day. Of course, not all adult day care facilities are created equally, so you need to take the time to find one that offers activities that stimulate and inspire. Read on to find out the best activities to look for!
Stimulating the Mind
Even though many elderly and disabled people suffer from physical limitations, their minds are still sharp. Stimulating the mind is important if you don't want it to start to atrophy.
Look for an adult day care center that offers games and activities designed to stimulate the brain. This can be as simple as offering crossword puzzles, memory games and board games. These types of activities can help prevent further memory loss.
Exercise is another way to help keep the mind sharp. When you exercise, you increase the blood flow to the brain. This, in turn, allows you to think more clearly. Ask if a potential adult day care center offers supervised exercise programs that are tailored to different ability levels. This will help your loved one keep both their mind and their body in good condition.
Inspiring the Imagination
Some people who are homebound may start to lose their sense of inspiration, and even their joy in daily life, rather quickly. Being isolated all the time can have a negative effect, especially on seniors. Adult day care is meant to help prevent that sense of isolation, and one of the ways it can best do so is by re-igniting the imagination. There are many ways that an adult day care center might inspire the imagination, including supervised activities like:
- Painting
- Gardening
- Cooking and baking
- Guided meditation
- Discussion groups about books or movies
- Playing or listening to music
- Enrichment classes in the arts
The above types of activities are not only fun, but they can really awaken the creativity and inspiration that may have been laying dormant in your loved one. These things are especially inspirational if they are activities that your loved one thought they had to abandon due to physical or mental limitations.
A good adult day care center should offer multiple options to enrich the body and mind. However, it is important to be sure that attendees are not forced into activities that they have no interest in. The best results in adult day care will occur when your loved one has a plethora of stimulating and inspiring activities at their fingertips, and the opportunity to decide what to do themselves. Call a local adult day care center like Independent Days Adult Care Center, Inc. to discuss their services today!
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