Meaningful Questions to Build Relationships with Seniors

Caring for an aging parent can be difficult. You have to balance providing great senior care with living your own life. It’s easy to forget about the relationship you may have had with your parents amid the challenges of balancing different lifestyles, but it’s important to maintain those relationships as much as possible. The aging population has a hard time relating to new technology and things that go on in the world today, so these are some great questions to make them think, bring back memories and build your relationship with them at the same time.

What Is The Thing You Remember Most From Your Childhood?

Older people may not remember back to their childhood, but it doesn’t hurt to ask them about it. You may be surprised at the things they tell you that you hadn’t heard before growing up with them. And most importantly, this question allows them to think back as far as they can and you can see how vividly they remember certain aspects of their childhood.

What Fun Things Did You Do With Your Parents And Grandparents?

This may be the most fun question you can ask your aging parent. Chances are the fun things you learn about that they did with their parents and grandparents are similar to the fun things they did with you. Bringing back fun memories can strike great conversations about how great life was back then and even relate to certain situations that may go on in your life today.

Who Has Been The Most Influential Person In Your Life?

The aging population has seen numerous influential people during their life. You could ask this question to a dozen different older people and there’s a decent chance you’ll hear a different name each time. When you hear how and why a particular person influenced them, you can ask follow-up questions as you see appropriate. You may even get a history lesson as they are telling stories.

What Are You Most Proud Of?

Parents sometimes ask their kids what they are proud of in life, but the question doesn’t always get asked the other way around. They may give the standard answer by saying they are most proud of their kids, but make them try to dig a little deeper. You may be able to relate to something that makes you proud in your own life and can have a nice conversation about certain experiences.

What Are Some Unexpected Challenges You’ve Faced Getting Older?

This could be a sensitive question depending on the health of your parent, whether they have a cognitive disability or other concerns. It still might be worth asking the question regardless just to hear their opinion on the challenges they’ve faced. It could provide an opportunity for you to help them with something they hadn’t mentioned before and can strengthen your relationship with them as a result.

Next Day Access is here to help you provide the senior care you need to your aging parent. When you don’t have to worry about accessibility concerns, you can focus on maintaining solid relationships. Feel free to contact us at any time to see how we can help.