Reading – It’s not just for kids anymore!

If you’d like to visit an older relative but are hesitant about how to “entertain” them, know this: Most seniors appreciate a good story. However, they may not be able to ask for a reader out of embarrassment.

How do you admit that your eyes are too tired to read, or you can no longer make out the letters of the alphabet? Or, that after a stroke, your hands can no longer hold a book or turn delicate pages?

If you have a senior at home or at one of our CHI Living Communities’ campuses, offer to read them a story, and ask first which type they might prefer. A love story may take them back to a time when they were first in love. A child’s tale about animals may bring them laughter, thinking about their grandchildren or when they, too, were a child. 

A good story is a great escape! It can take the mind’s eye to faraway places, rekindle the spirit or bring joy. A good story also can turn present time into the past, when loneliness was at bay and when respect and love were nearby.

Don’t worry about reading for too long a time. Use your best voice, putting some emotion behind what you read, and don’t read too fast. If you see your loved one beginning to shift their position often, or they look tired, it’s time to take a break.

Whether you read a short novel, an interesting feature story in a newspaper, or the Bible, most seniors enjoy being read to … if for no other reason than to know they have not been forgotten.