Summers are irksome for the heat. Not surprisingly, 93.8% of seniors who participated in our recent survey about summers said weather trends (heat) is the major differentiator this summer as compared to previous years. But summers are lovely when you consider the visiting family. Most families travel to be together for a little while during summers as schools and colleges have vacations. Sometimes, the kids and grandkids visit the grandparents or vice versa. Either way, there is a lot of preparation and anticipation for the summer times. It is good to know that 31.25% of our seniors are travelling to be with their families. An equal number of seniors are planning to remain indoors and relax and catch up on their reading!
If you ask people of any ages, they will surely have some summer memories to share. It could be of summers spent in their native with their grandparents, or travelling to different places with their parents or grandparents. In our summer survey, 50% seniors indicated that about 15-20 years ago, they either used to travel for leisure during summers, or relaxed with their near and dear ones. The memories are as much about the time spent with the people as it is about the place. Most people are nostalgic about their ancestral house and love to tell tales about it to their next generations.
And when studies have proved that intergenerational activities can provide immense benefits to seniors, this is a great way to spend your summer. It has been established that seniors find a sense of purpose by sharing their experiences with the younger generation. It also helps keep them happy and free from isolation, anxiety, and depression. While the younger generation benefits from the experience of the seniors, the older generation gets to learn many new skills, thanks to the tech-savvy new-gen!
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Are you looking forward to the summer vacations? What do you have planned? If you are wondering what you can do to keep people of all ages engaged, here are some ideas.
- Take a trip
This is the easiest way to get together and have fun. You and your family could travel to a common destination and spend time together. The travel can be independent or together, depending on your convenience. If you want to have quality time with each other, you could choose a resort, tucked away in a jungle, or on a beach, or hill station. Keep away from the regular touristry places. This will give you ample time to be with each other and do activities that you want to. You could take walks, relax by the pool or the beach, have some bonfire talks or dances, barbecues, etc. Keep the devices away and cherish the time spent together.
If all of you are the city types who like shopping and night life, you could do that too. Shop till you drop, catch up over some drinks and have fun. There is no set rule to follow any plan and you could take it as it comes. The goal is to spend time together to create pleasant memories. Also, you could get some customised T-shirts or costumes created and click a snap for keepsakes of the trip. In our survey, 56.25% of our seniors have indicated that travelling excites them a lot. So, maybe, this can become a family tradition to keep it going every year.
- Cook meals together
The best way to pass on recipes to the younger generation is to cook it along with them! While you will have days when you plan to go out for family meals, you could also choose to cook family meals. Every member can cook something. The meal planning can be fun, as you fix the menu, do the shopping and the prep. It can be an intergenerational meal too, with some traditional dishes and some young gen preferences like burger, pizza, pasta, etc. Exchange recipes, dress up, put on some music and dance. Family members can give performances too like playing musical instruments, singing karaoke, or playing Antakshari or dumb charades as a group, etc. Be innovative and think up themes for the activities so that all members can participate and enjoy.
- Create reels
As much as you may want to avoid it, devices and technology cannot be far behind, especially in today’s times. The young generation believes in creating reels to create memories. So, if you have them creating reels, join in the fun, and create a few along with them. Learn some tricks and techniques, and create a few great intergenerational reels that may go viral! When with kids and grandkids, you become one too!
- Have intergenerational quizzes
What’s the best way to share information and learn about the other’s generation? Have some themed quizzes every day after dinner to get each generation learn about the other. For example, movies, songs, rock bands, books, celebrities, school, and college events and more. When you conduct the quiz, make it about your generation and let others do the same. That way, everyone will gain knowledge about other’s generation. For the young generation, it is fun way to learn how it must have been to grow up in your times and you get to know their side of the story.
- Learn at least one skill from others
This summer, make sure that you pick up one new skill from the visiting family members! Each one should teach the other one new skill. It could be cooking, arts and crafts, gardening, using social media, creating reels, doing makeup, etc. This can also become a family tradition. Every summer improve your skills and then show it off! This activity can be fun, gives everyone a sense of importance and purpose and everyone gets to learn something.
So, you see, summers can be fun, if you can brave the heat. Indeed, care
