How do I keep dad from being so bored?
Answered by Steve who lives with his dad, Tom
What I tried…
My dad has emphysema and it’s quite an ordeal taking him out of the house. He was getting really down – he was an avid traveler in his day – so we’ve been trying arm chair travelling. That’s where you visit a new city or country whilst never leaving your house!
- For us, that’s meant getting a big world map and putting it on the wall. We started by reminiscing about all the places dad has already visited, or I’ve visited. We’d test each other on the country flags and capital cities.
- Then, we’d pick a place neither of us had been. I’d go to the library, or arrange for the home librarian to visit with books, music CDs, and films about the city or country. Sometimes, I’d even visit Flight Centre to get travel brochures for us to look at.
- There’s lots of great stuff online. You can go to the Lonely Planet website for pictures & stories of a city.
- We would also try and learn a few words of the local language, together. We often used this website for free courses.
- If you’re into cooking, you can also try a recipe from that country. I’m not a good cook – but this was a good way to get my siblings involved. They would come over and try out a new recipe with dad from the place we were traveling to. This website has loads of international recipes!
- One time we also tried calling one of the local cultural clubs (The German Club, The Croatian Association, Italian Clubs, etc.) to have a volunteer come around and talk to us about their country.
What I thought about…
It’s really easy to feel stuck when you have a parent living with you that can’t get out and about. After several months of dad watching TV all day, and me coming home to find him bored, I began to think about what we could do together. Travel was something we both really loved.
A bit more about me and my caring situation…
I am a classic sandwich carer – I still have teenage daughters living with me, I work part-time, and dad lives with us. Dad has to have carers come in to help him dress and shower – but he still does have a sharp mind!