Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

Serve Reminiscence Along With Hotdogs on 4th of July

4th of July, around the corner, is a perfect time to use reminiscence with elders
Reminiscence isn’t new. Before the printing press, storytellers and bards were how history was recorded-

Oral storytellers gave us the Odyssey and another valiant tales. History exists in their family, and Ulysses or Penelope might be sitting at your barbecue this coming 4th of July- in the form of your aging parents.

Capture Aging Parent’s Memories Before They are Gone

But story telling only works if the teller remembers the lines. Family history has to be captured when the older person still remembers. So holiday events are a perfect time to tap into that font before it flickers.

Here are some tips to use if you want to capture these family tales during  4th of July weekend with aging parents—a perfect time to do this. Use empathetic listening if you can. Make all the messages you are are giving the older person— tone, how fast you speak, how they are sitting- say, “I want to listen to them.”

TIPs TO Capture Those Memories Before they Fade

Ask questions with reminiscence prompting the story but don’t make judgments. If there are going to record the family tale, do it in a way that doesn’t distract or stop the older person from talking.

With reminiscence -start somewhere. If the elder isn’t going to tell stories on his or her own, start the story and see if they will follow along.” Did you go to 4th of July parades when you were a kid or march in one after the war ( pick his war).” Did your parents have barbecues to start the summer”Music is just next to memory in the brain shown by Alive Inside So  60’s Bruce Springfield Rock and Roll 50’s , Little Richard , Bill Haley and if the are older  early 50’s the Four Freshman

Two technology tools to help you with Reminiscence for your older client

Story Worth    

Story Worth is a legacy building tool that can help families create a book of memories through weekly easy prompts of questions to ask the older person  the create a weekly story about their life resulting in a book after one Year . My daughter gifted it to her Dad and he and the whole family loved the legacy book that was created

 

Quick Voice Recorder to catch the memory on your phone  and used Dictation  to transcribe the memories into written word to print.

Check out my Book Handbook of Geriatric Care Management with more tools for legacy building written by David Lindeman Director Of the Center for Technology at UC Berkeley and Julie Menack of 21 st Care Solutions

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Serve Reminicence Along With Hamburgers on Memorial Day


Reminiscence isn’t new. Before the printing press, storytellers and bards were how history was recorded-

Oral storytellers gave us the Odyssey and another valiant tales. History exists in their family, and Ulysses or Penelope might be sitting at your barbecue this coming Memorial Day- in the form of your aging parents.

But story telling only works if the teller remembers the lines. Family history has to be captured when the older person still remembers. So holiday events are a perfect time to tap into that font before it flickers.

Here are some tips to use if their want to capture these family tales during Memorial Day weekend with aging parents—a perfect time to do this. Use empathetic listening if their can. Make all the messages you are are giving the older person— tone, how fast you speak, how they are sitting- say, “I want to listen to them.”

Ask questions that prompt the story but don’t make judgments. If there are going to record the family tale, do it in a way that doesn’t distract or stop the older person from talking.

Start somewhere. If the elder isn’t going to tell stories on his or her own, start the story and see if they will follow along.” Did you go to Memorial Day parades when you were a kid or march in one after the war ( pick his war).” Did your parents have barbecues to start the summer”

Music is just next to memory in the brain shown by Alive Inside So 50’s Rock and Roll, Little Richard , Bill Haley and if the are older the Four Freshman

Here are two technology tools to help you with this legacy building for your older client

Life Bio-

Quick Voice Recorder to catch the memory on your phone

Check out my Book Handbook of Geriatric Care Management with more tools for legacy building written by David Lindeman Director Of the Center for Technology at UC Berkeley and Julie Menack of 21 st Care Solutions

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