As your loved one gets older, it’s important they stay active and get their body moving often. It’s not such a great thing if they stay home all day laying in bed, sitting on the couch, or sitting in a recliner chair all day every day. You wouldn’t want them to be couch potatoes but rather go-getter cucumber. Here are five ideas to keep your loved one moving in and out of the house.

Family Playdates

Arrange days (outings) where your loved one sees and spends time with other family members especially their grandchildren. These outings can be beach days or park days. This gets them out of the house and outside from some fresh air, sunlight and the smell of grass, sand, or an ocean breeze. Bring food to have a picnic and have your loved one assist with making and preparing the food and beverages.

Examples could be flipping burgers or hot dogs on a grill or getting ingredients together to make sandwiches or making iced tea or lemonade. Bring a kite so your loved one can fly the kite with their grandchildren and bring balls so they can play by throwing and catching the ball back and forth. If you all are at the beach you can go for a nice swim or if you all are at the park you can go for a nice walk.

Yoga

A cool thing about yoga is that your loved one can do it indoors or outdoors whether it’s from the comfort of their home or a yoga studio. Get them a yoga mat that’s their favorite color which could motivate them, even more, to want to do it. If they do yoga at home they can easily pull up yoga tutorial videos online or on their TV. If they leave their home to do yoga they can go to an actual class with a yoga instructor. Yoga can help with your loved one’s coordination, posture and balance.

Walking

Make sure your loved one goes on daily walks whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, or night. They can go to a shopping mall and walk around the different stores while window shopping or actually shopping. They can go on a nature walk at a local park, botanical garden, beach or walk around a lake if there are sidewalks accessible. They could also go to a museum and walk around while looking at different pieces of artwork and artifacts.

Swimming

Your loved one can visit their nearest pool and go swimming or join a water aerobics class. If they’re not the best swimmer you can sign them up for swimming lessons. They can become one with the water all while getting out of the house and getting some exercise.

Hobbies

Help your loved one pick a hobby they can do at home that gets them up and moving such as knitting, pottery, painting or playing an instrument such as the piano. Be sure to get them into a hobby that really piques their interest and gets them excited to get up and do something fun.

Caring Home Care offers a live-in caregiver you can always count on. Live-in caregivers provide services in your loved one’s home 24/7. This service combines our personal care assistance, homemaker, escort, and companion services to provide safety, security, and peace of mind. From reminders about family outings and exercise classes to meal preparation and engaging conversations, the live-in caregivers can help you or your loved one experience a high-quality life. Learn how you can match your parent or loved one with a caregiver based on specific needs today.