Activity Ideas: Rainy days make it harder to get outside.
So when you’re stuck inside and your parents are getting restless, movies are a great way to pass the time. Here are four movies that embrace aging and give you and your parents plenty to talk about after for some great activity ideas.
Driving Miss Daisy
This movie starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy is one of the best at showing the companionship of an aging woman and her caregiver/driver. Jessica Tandy plays Daisy, a woman with failing eyesight who can no longer drive, and Morgan Freeman as the man hired to drive her around.
The movie addresses the companionship that strangers provide as you age. It also looks at the fact that getting older and needing to rely on others isn’t a sign of weakness and doesn’t mean you have to give up your freedom.
Firefly Dreams
This Japanese movie focuses on a seventeen-year-old city girl whose parents end their marriage. She’s sent to the country to work for her aunt, but she’s soon asked to care for an older woman who has Alzheimer’s. While she first hates her new role, she forms a lasting friendship with the older woman.
This movie looks at the bonds between generations. Even with Alzheimer’s making it hard to remember, the elderly woman forms a new friendship. It’s a good movie for teens who are trying to understand a grandparent’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Strangers In Good Company
A group of older women and their 20-something bus driver become stranded when the bus breaks down in the Canadian wilderness. They take shelter in an abandoned farmhouse where they share their life stories and issues with aging while waiting for help to arrive.
If you haven’t heard of this sleeper, you’re not alone. The movie didn’t get much publicity in the U.S., but it won an award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The cast is not well-known, but their chemistry shined in this movie where the cast ad-libbed each scene.
Up
In Up, an elderly widower is disgruntled that developers want to buy his house and move him into a retirement home. Determined to do things his way, he attaches many balloons to his house, intending to float it to his late wife’s dream location.
A precocious boy ends up being a stowaway, befriends the older man, and changes his outlook on life. While he’s without his wife, he can find new friends in surprising places. This Pixar movie is excellent for grandchildren, too.
Activity Ideas: Conclusion
Would elderly care aides be helpful with activity ideas? If you’re taking time off to help your parents with daily activities, you can have caregivers spend time with them while you’re at work. You don’t have to keep taking time off, which uses up your vacation and personal time or leaves you with less income.
Elderly care services offer help with meals, personal care, cleaning, and transportation. It also pairs your parents with caregivers for companionship. Learn more by calling an expert in elderly care.
