They may be old but they still need entertaining

As the older generations lose their independence it is important that they still find activities that they can do from the comfort of their homes. You need to find things that will interest them and maybe teach them how to use new things, but once they learn them, they’ll be amazed at the amount of things they can now do from home.

Online shopping

Whether they want to shop for clothes, electronics or groceries, once they know how to shop online they will be amazed at how easy it is. They can pass hours and hours looking through items of clothing or comparing the spec and prices of hi-fis. They could even start downloading their favourite music, perhaps they’d suppose they wouldn’t be able to download their favourite Miles Davis song, but it would surprise them to find the amount of music they could find online.

Learn a new style of cooking

Throughout life we should always keep having new experiences, and luckily with food you can always find a new experience, no matter how old you are. Take on the skill that is sushi, which once you’ve got the knack is pretty easy! All they need is a starter kit which you can buy from most large supermarkets. They could try middle-eastern spices and make tagines, which are like fruity and spicy stews, not so different to making a Lancashire hotpot!

Play online bingo

Make friends, play games and win some money! If your parents are struggling for company, then online bingo will provide them with people to talk to from all around the world, they can play games to pass the time and they could win money too. All they have to do is click to play online bingo and those who struggle with technology can get the hang of it easily enough.

Watch a film or TV program on Netflix

Does your parent complain about repeats and re-runs on television? Get them a Netflix account then they can choose whatever they want to watch whenever they want to watch it. Netflix have a great range of tv and film perfect for any age range and it’s simple and easy to use.

Play on the Wii or Wii-U together.

Nintendo’s 7th generation console was such an interesting decision. Instead of providing hard core gamers with more challenging and violent games, like the PS3 and Xbox 360 did, they decided to open video games up so that anyone could play a game together and possibly win. Wii Sports, the game that came with any purchase of a Wii console, put gamers of any age or gaming ability on the same level and allowed them to play tennis, bowling, baseball and golf. Wii sports is perfect to play with old people as it’s athletic, they can stand up as they play and swing their arms, and it is really competitive.