If kids are used to visiting their grandparents at their home or in another residence, they may be a little jarred when visiting them at an assisted living community. Young children especially may have a hard time adjusting to visiting grandma or grandpa in a new environment.
Engaging in fun activities together is one way to ease their apprehensions about stopping over. Spending time together doing entertaining things is also a way to for grandparents and grandchildren to bond.
Below are some examples of enjoyable things that residents of assisted living communities can do when young ones come to visit.
Having fun with grandkids while in assisted living is easy
Arts and crafts. Kids love creating things, and what better way to spend time with the young ones you love than by helping them shape the things in their imagination? There's a huge variety of projects you can work on that aren't too messy and don't require a ton of resources or too much effort. Cutting out paper snowflakes from old newspapers and painting them, decorating blank t-shirts for one another and creating collages out of photos and text from old magazines are all fun and easy things you can engage in.
Coloring books. Coloring books have always been popular with children, but over recent years, there has been a surge in the creation of coloring books for adults because of how relaxing it can be. It promotes creativity and can be done on an ongoing basis, making it a perfect go-to activity for repeat visits.
Tabletop games. Many kids today are very attached to the digital devices their parents give them, but the right tabletop games can pull them away from the screen for a short time. Having some friendly competition can be a fun way to spend time together, and classic games like Candy Land, Apples to Apples, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry! and Jenga are simple enough for anyone to enjoy, young or old.
Look at photo albums. Taking a trip down memory lane with the children by exploring old photos is something both parties can enjoy. This gives grandparents an opportunity to teach the young ones about their family history and tell entertaining stories of moments gone by.
Watch movies. Sitting under a comfy blanket, eating some popcorn and watching a movie is a great way to spend time together. Start you own movie club by making a list of movies you both want to see and gradually working through them. Or show them movies you loved as a kid and explain why you loved them so much, then give them opportunity to do the same with movies they love.
Keep doing things you've always done. Even though the location of your residence may have changed, it doesn't mean family traditions need to. Maintaining the normalcy of visits is the ideal way to help young kids adjust to seeing their loved ones in a new environment. Whether it be something featured on this list or something specific to your family, it's important to continue doing the activities you and your grandkids have always done.
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