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You may sometimes joke about "dying" of boredom. But it actually happens to seniors.
Sometimes a senior citizen has outlived all their friends and family, so they have nobody left to care about them. Without visits or phone calls, every day is monotonous. Some seniors decide that there's nothing much to live for, so they become shut-ins who never go out. Many stop eating and slowly let themselves waste away.
Other seniors have family members, but they are either uncaring, or too busy with their own families and children to check up on the older generation as often as they could.
Make an effort to brighten a senior citizen's day, and you could actually be saving their life!
Ready to put a smile on a senior? Here are some ideas for how you can help senior citizens in your neighborhood.
Help With Pet Care
Many senior citizens have physical ailments that make it diffcult for them to care for their beloved pets. Pets can become neglected, not because seniors don't care, but because it's too hard for them to do what's needed. Using a can opener or opening sealed bags of pet food may be too difficult for arthritic hands, and bending down to place pet food in bowls is tough on bad backs.
If you know a senior citizen on your block who has a pet, offer to help them to take of it. Prepare meals for the animal, brush a cat's fur to remove snarls, or offer to bathe a dog. Even helping a senior to lift up their pet for a nice lap-snuggle would be a real kindness.
