Father’s Day is Sunday, June 21. As surges of coronavirus infections have begun to re-emerge and people are being more lenient with social distancing, families around the country are preparing to celebrate summer holidays, including Father’s Day.
Honoring and celebrating important fathers and male family members has been a long tradition for many families, however, considerations must be taken before inviting grandpa over for cake and presents this year.
“Holidays are a valuable time for the whole family to catch up, make new memories, and bond,” says aging expert and author of BOOM: The Baby Boomers Guide to Leveraging Technology, so that you can Preserve Your Independent Lifestyle & Thrive Lisa Cini. “For our aging loved ones who may not get to see their families often due to distance, holidays are treasured. Yet, with Coronavirus disproportionately affecting at-risk populations, such as those with pre-existing conditions, or 65+, Father’s Day should not be treated the same in 2020, especially with at risk loved ones.”
She recommends the following tips to make Father’s Day special this year while social distancing:
- Tech up: Prior to Father’s Day, work through any tech challenges. Not everyone has an iPhone, so saying “lets FaceTime,” may be out of the picture. Figure out if a loved one has a computer, phone or tablet and make sure they know how to use it. Practice patience and clear directions, and if possible, involve the kids.
- Eat a meal together virtually: Once your loved one can get set up on a video chat, consider ordering delivery from a treasured local restaurant and setting up FaceTime or Zoom to eat together.
- Plan a car party: If in proximity to loved ones, consider saying hi through planning a car parade! Have family members drive by and hold posters with loving words of encouragement.
- Give mood boosting gifts: If dad or grandpa is feeling sad about not being able to see you, the Human Charger light therapy helps with the blues, sleep issues, and more energy and alertness. Additionally, Hapbee is a wearable device and smartphone app that can make a user feel happy, calm, sleepy, alert, & focused.
- Get moving together: Wellness devices like Fitbit, Garmin, Apple watch, and Kardia can give reminders to move around and tracks daily move goals. If possible, spend time together safely social distancing in a park, golf range, or waterfront. Being outside boosts the spirits, plus, you get to spend a couple hours enjoying each other’s company.
- Retrofit the home for maximum aging in place comfort: Remote health monitoring devices like: Livio AI, Zibrio, MouthLab by Aidar Health, Essence Group Fall Detector Radar, CarePredict, and the MedWand, H2-BP can help ease aging in place worries like falls and bathroom hazards. Additionally, consider getting a Bidet Toilet Seat to increase independence.