Elder Guru

When caring for seniors with dementia, effective communication stands as a cornerstone for maintaining their dignity, comfort, and quality of life.
However, navigating conversations with individuals experiencing cognitive decline can present unique challenges. In this article (linked in bio), we’ll explore nine invaluable tips for enhancing communication with seniors living with dementia.

‘Gardening for Seniors - 10 tools to make it easy’ - find this article and many more at the link in our bio!

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching, and most people have more than just one person to shop for. Each May we celebrate our moms, step-moms, and mothers-in-law, but finding a gift for Grandma may be the most important of all.

Our mothers help to shape us into the people we are today, but grandmothers are the ones that helped shape them. Their constant love and support keep families happy and thriving, so it’s only right that we treat them to something great on their special day.

But with endless options across the internet, finding the perfect gift grandma will love can feel impossible and overwhelming. So instead of leaving you to wade through thousands of options, we’ve rounded up the best Mother’s Day gifts for grandma.

11 Great Mother's Day Gifts for Grandmas Mother's Day is the annual even when we celebrate everything our mothers. But what about grandmothers? Here are Mother's Day gift ideas for grandmothers.

Whether it’s a birthday, wedding, graduation, or the holiday season, there are often times throughout the year when you need to find some gifts for grandchildren. While sometimes the grandchild is prepared and has a list ready to give you, other times you’re required to think outside the box and are on your own in finding the perfect gift – ideally one you know they’ll love!

We've rounded up the perfect gifts to give the grandchild, or grandchildren, who have everything, and we promise there's a gift idea for children of all different ages.

With that said, please check out our newest article linked below!

Gift Ideas for Grandchildren Who Have Everything Whether it's a birthday, wedding, graduation, or the holiday season, there are often times throughout the year when you need to find some gifts for

Navigating the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease can be emotionally and mentally taxing, both for those diagnosed and their caregivers. One common expression that caregivers may encounter is “I want to go home,” even when the individual is already in their familiar surroundings.

In this article, we’ll explore five compassionate and effective responses to this poignant plea, offering insights and strategies to help both caregivers and their loved ones cope with the complexities of Alzheimer’s disease. We hope you find these to be helpful suggestions for creating a positive environment for dementia patients and dementia caregivers alike.

5 Responses to "I Want to Go Home" with Alzheimer's I heard nursing home residents say "I want to go home" countless times during my time working as a social worker in a long-term care setting. Nobody really

Losing a spouse is an incredibly painful experience, and for widowers, navigating through grief can feel like an overwhelming journey. While the grieving process is unique to each individual, offering support and comfort to a widower during this time can be deeply meaningful.

In this article, we’ll explore four ways to provide solace and assistance to a widower who is mourning the loss of their partner. From offering a listening ear to practical acts of kindness, these gestures can help ease the burden of grief and provide much-needed comfort during a challenging period of adjustment.

4 Ways to Comfort a Widower Who is Grieving The death of a wife is the most challenging event a man could face, leaving family members and friends wondering about ways to comfort a widower.

Let's talk beach trips!

Many beach chairs are built to be lightweight and easily portable. They’re fine for kids or young adults sunbathing, but older adults are going to appreciate a bit more comfort. It’s worth the extra weight and – possibly – cost. Let’s see what some of those chairs look like.

The Best Beach Chairs for Older Adults – 2024 Looking for the best beach chairs for elderly? Family fun at the beach doesn't have to exclude grandma and grandpa, but buying beach chairs for the elderly in advance might help.

We all know that with age comes wisdom, but with age also comes physical decline. Our bodies change; we lose some of our natural strength and energy. It’s no wonder people look specifically for lightweight vacuum cleaners for seniors.

We’ve rounded up 7 of the best lightweight vacuums for older adults, and hope you find this list to be a helpful resource! (Article can be found on our website, which is linked in our bio)

In this article, we will explore the top indoor plants that produce the most oxygen that can help freshen the air in your home, as well as better understand why they’re so beneficial to our overall well-being.

Introducing plants into your living space not only adds a touch of natural beauty but can also significantly contribute to an improvement in indoor air quality. Let's dive in!

https://www.elderguru.com/plants-that-produce-the-most-oxygen-indoors/

As we navigate the journey of aging, our hands and feet often serve as a testament to the wide variety of experiences we’ve accumulated over the years.

However, the effects of time can manifest in subtle ways, particularly in the health and appearance of our nails, both on our hands and feet. Nail care becomes an essential aspect of overall well-being as we age, deserving of attention and care to maintain not only the aesthetics but also the vitality of our hands and feet.

In this article, we’ll explore a curated set of nail care best practices tailored to the unique needs of older adults.

Nail Care Tips for Older Adults As we navigate the journey of aging, our hands and feet often serve as a testament to the wide variety of experiences we've accumulated over the years.

So you’ve started getting AARP magazines in the mail of late, and it has you wondering, just how old is old? Is there some set date where once you reach it – p**f! – you’ve become an “old” person? What about other terms for older adults, such as ‘elderly’, ‘senior citizen’, those in their ‘old age’, and the like? At what point are those terms applicable to somebody – and most importantly – us?

There is no consistent answer to how old “old” is, but we can find some standards…

How Old is Old, Elderly, and Senior? So you've started getting AARP magazines in the mail of late, and it has you wondering, just how old is old? Is there some set date where once you reach it –

Having trouble seeing the numbers on the clock? Not hearing the alarm go off in the morning? Fumbling to hit the small snooze button when you do hear it? Old age does a number on us.

As individuals age, the importance of a reliable and user-friendly clock radio becomes increasingly evident. For older adults, a clock radio often goes beyond a mere timekeeping device, serving as a crucial companion in maintaining daily routines and ensuring a seamless start to each day.

If you're looking for a new one, we've got you covered!

6 Best Clock Radios for Seniors Having trouble seeing the numbers on the clock? In this article we’ll look at the best clock radios for seniors that older adults can actually see and hear.

Unintended weight loss can make it more difficult to regain strength unless you know how to properly put the pounds back on. Starting your day with high-calorie breakfasts is a solid way to begin regaining weight.

You can regain weight in a healthy way or in an unhealthy way. Everyone knows that holiday eating is a quick way to gain 10 pounds, and that notion is based on snacking continuously on all the wrong types of foods throughout the day, and then overindulging during holiday meals. This pattern of continuous snacking and overeating is an example of an unhealthy way to gain weight.

There are, however, healthy ways to up your caloric intake, which we’ll discuss in our article linked below.

5 High Calorie Breakfasts to Gain Weight Starting you day with high calorie breakfasts is a solid way to begin regaining weight. Here are 5 recipes to make calorie-intensive morning meals.

Shopping for an older adult is a bit harder than it is to shop for a child. This is a time in life when people often have most things they need, so more thought must go into each gift to ensure that you are getting something that the recipient will genuinely enjoy, and ideally use for years to come.

Thankfully, we’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting for you. We’ve come up with ideas that go beyond just washable slippers, a digital photo frame, or another soft blanket (although those are good, too).

So, let’s take a look at our list of 36 unique gift ideas for older adults.

36 Unique Gift Ideas for Older Adults Shopping for older adults is difficult. If you're looking for gift ideas for older adults, older men, older women, or for those with everything, we can help!

Dealing with death is a certainty that every person will have to face, but dealing with a premature death is particularly difficult.

It’s often hard to know what to say to someone grieving a loss, and it can be even more difficult to know where to find comfort if you’re the one grieving a sudden death.

These ‘gone too soon’ quotes will hopefully serve as a reminder that no one is alone.

Loss is an unfortunate, but very real, part of life. You are not alone in struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one or to know what to say to a loved one who has recently lost an important person in their life, prematurely.

If you're looking for ways to support yourself or a loved one going through loss, take a look at our article for some thoughtfully worded suggestions and ideas.

39 Best Gone Too Soon Quotes for Premature Death Dealing with a premature death is difficult. These gone too soon quotes may serve as a reminder that no one is alone. Others have suffered the same loss.

Adding tennis balls to your walker is a great idea that can help to make using your walker just a bit more convenient and enjoyable. Whatever your reasoning for doing so, know that there are a wide array of walker accessories and aides out there that can help you meet your goals for improved access and mobility when using your walker.

We've shared our top recommended picks in our newly updated article, and hope you find it useful.

4 Tennis Balls for Walkers (and 4 Alternatives) Tennis balls for walkers? Those are for the tennis courts, right? Well, for anyone who has worked around older adults long enough, the sight of tennis balls

While the standard socks, golf polo, e-reader, and rocks glasses are certainly gifts worth giving if you’re out of options and need a crowd pleaser, to us, they also feel quite generic and ‘done’ already. They’re standard for a reason, not necessarily exciting, and because of that, we have a feeling they aren’t actually the gifts the older men in your life really want to receive.

However, sometimes (most of the time) they don’t even know what they want, which makes gift giving, especially unique gift giving, particularly difficult. Luckily, we think we’ve solved that problem for you!

We hope that our gift guide full of unique, meaningful, practical, thoughtful, and fun gifts to give will inspire you to think outside the box a bit this holiday season.

Holiday Gifts for the Older Man (Who Has Everything!) - A 2023 Gift Guide While the standard socks, golf polo, e reader, and rocks glasses are certainly gifts worth giving if you’re out of options and need a crowd pleaser, to us,

More and more mature adults are sharing their lives and experiences through social media. This includes posting selfies. What was once the realm of attention-seeking twenty-year-olds is being embraced by aging adults everywhere.

While it may seem a bit daunting and uncomfortable at first, there are actions you can take to create the best, most flattering, and most genuine selfie to share with friends and family. Here are some tips!

Mature Selfies - A Senior’s Guide to the Perfect Selfie The idea of taking mature selfies may clash with what you see on social, photo sharing platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. – young men and women

Hospice patient gets one last visit with her favorite animal Jackie Stalter, 78, has been around horses her entire life. Her daughter Jaime wanted to make sure she got one last visit with her favorite animal.

More of this, please!

Maggie Smith’s Loewe Campaign Is What Fashion Fans Needed The 88-year-old is going viral for her fabulous modeling.

It’s important to make sure that the older adults in your life are prepared to have a safe and healthy winter. It doesn’t take much effort and the result can be peace of mind for you and your loved ones, knowing that winter can be challenging for anyone, particularly for older adults.

Below are five tips for cold weather safety precautions that you can do before and throughout the winter.

5 Cold Weather Safety Tips for Seniors Are you the caregiver for an older adult in your life? These five cold weather safety tips for seniors can help you ensure they have a safe and healthy winter.

Knowing what to say when someone dies; when talking to a friend, family member, colleague, or anyone who has lost someone dear to them, is an incredibly sensitive topic. How do you say “my heart goes out to you” without sounding cliche?

Approximately 9,270 deaths occur every day in the United States. This results in a lot of grief for the loved ones left behind. Dealing with a major loss such as this leads to serious grief.

That grief manifests itself differently in different people and no one person’s experience of grief is the same. As a result, there isn’t one formula for knowing what to say when someone loses a loved one. However, knowing examples of what you might say or do to convey sympathy and support for those who are grieving is a good first step toward being there and helping someone who has suffered a loss.

We've recently written a blog post on this exact topic to help you navigate this difficult topic, and we hope you find it helpful - let us know what you think in the comments below.

5 Ways to Say My Heart Goes Out to You Knowing what to say when someone dies; when talking to a friend, family member, or other person is difficult. How do you say "my heart goes out to you" without sounding cliche?

We're proud of our newly published article: The 2023 Caring for Aging Parents Checklist – An Aging in Place Home Safety Resource, and would love for you to read it and let us know what you think.

An excerpt:
As we age, the desire to remain in the comfort of our own homes becomes increasingly important. Aging in place, or staying in one’s own home as one gets older, is a goal for many seniors.

However, to do so safely and independently, it’s essential to assess and modify living spaces to accommodate the changing needs that come with aging.

This is where a home safety checklist can prove invaluable. In this article, we will explore the key elements of an aging in place home safety checklist to help you or your loved ones enjoy a secure and comfortable living environment for many years to come.

The 2023 Caring for Aging Parents Checklist - An Aging in Place Home Safety Resource Looking for a caring for aging parents checklist? We've got you covered. In this article, we discuss topics ranging from home safety to care options.

Have you ever wondered what an Otologist is? Should you be seeing one?

When it comes to your ear problems and hearing, there are four different types of health professionals that treat patients: an ENT generalist, otologist, neurologist, or audiologist.

Knowing the right medical professional to go to when you have a problem with your body is important. In this article, we’ll focus on the differences between otologists and other related professions, and describe what each do.

What is an Otologist and What Do They Do? In this article we'll look focus on primarily one question: What is an otologist? To answer that, however, we need to compare otologists to other professionals.

We love to see it! 👏 👏 👏

"Pamela Anderson has joined the ranks of celebrity women embracing no-makeup looks − and Jamie Lee Curtis says there's a lot we can learn from her.

Curtis, 64, shouted out Anderson, 56, on Instagram Sunday, sharing a photo of the former "Baywatch" star showing off her natural beauty at the Isabel Marant Spring/Summer 2024 womenswear fashion show in late September."

"THE NATURAL BEAUTY REVOLUTION HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!" Curtis wrote, tagging Anderson. "this woman showed up and claimed her seat at the table with nothing on her face. I am so impressed and floored by this act of courage and rebellion."

Are you as excited as we are by this natural beauty 'revolution'? Let us know in the comments below!

Pamela Anderson's bold no-makeup look and the 'natural beauty revolution' Pamela Anderson has joined the ranks of celebrity women embracing no-makeup looks − and Jamie Lee Curtis says there's a lot we can learn from her.