Staying in touch with grandparents and the older adults in your life

The COVID-19 outbreak has brought many changes into our lives and in times like these, it’s important to stay in contact with your grandparents and older neighbours, family or community members.

Older adults may feel increasingly worried and anxious during this time. Keeping in touch and showing you care can go a long way towards helping them to stay positive and to get them through this tough and unfamiliar time.

Regular contact with grandparents and older adults can also help reassure children, that other people they may worry about, like their grandparents, are safe and well. It’s important we all do our bit to help older members in our community to stay healthy and safe during this challenging time. While it might be difficult to not see our older family members for a period of time, it’s important we make the effort to stay connected to them by regular telephone or video calls.

Depending on your age and the nature of your relationship, think of some activities to do with your grandparents, establish a daily meet-up online to read books, play games, or do activities. Volunteer to help out with an older neighbour or community member by going to the shops for them, cooking a meal or collecting a prescription for them.

Here are five ideas to help you stay connected:

1. Chat on the phone or try a video chat – you don’t just have to chat.  You could do craft together or you could show them family photos and ask them to tell you about them.
2. Email or message them daily pictures of what you have been doing.
3. Keep in touch via socials.
4. Drop a parcel at their door to let them know you’re thinking of them.
5. If your grandies live in a different region to you, why not send them a letter or some craft to put on their fridge.

Grandparents have gone from spending time with their grandkids, families and being out and about with their friends to spending the majority of their time inside and for some, alone. This can have a huge impact on their mental health and wellbeing. To help prevent loneliness during this difficult time it is important to make an extra effort to maintain regular contact with older people. 

Try out some of the ideas above and get creative with ways to stay in touch with your grandparents and other older family and community members. It will not only help their mental health but yours as well!

 

Content last updated: 15 May 2020