Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

  • Home
  • Products
    • Speakers Bureau Package
    • GCM Manual New 5th Edition
    • VIP Care Management White Paper
    • Books
    • Geriatric Care Management – 4th Edition
    • Mom Loves You Best
    • Care Managers
  • Online Classes
    • GCM Operations Manual Online Course
    • Geriatric Care Management Business Online Course
    • CEUs for Individual Modules
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Past Webinars
  • Recommendations
  • About
  • Blog
    • Aging
    • Geriatric Care Manager
    • Siblings
    • Webinar
  • Contact

Reminiscence on Memorial Day- Serve it to Elders Along With Hamburgers

May 26, 2022

Reminiscence on Memorial Day

What is Reminiscence- It  isn’t new-It’s how history was recorded-

Oral storytellers gave us the Odyssey and other valiant tales. Ulysses and Penelope may be coming to your Memorial Day Barbecue this coming weekend.

Reminiscence on Memorial Day

But storytelling 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.

Tips to Capture Elders’s Stories

Here are some tips to use if they want to capture these family tales during Memorial Day weekend with aging parents—a perfect time to do this. If you are gathering at a memorial day barbeque, ask, older family members how they celebrated the holiday that begins supper, when they were young.

Then use empathetic listening.What is empathetic listening? Make all the messages you are giving the older person— tone, how fast you speak, how they are sitting- say, “I want to listen to you

What is Reminiscence-Asking 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.

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 ?”. “What was it like being drafted? Where did you serve?  

 

Music is just next to memory in the brain.

 Alive Inside can be used for elders with dementia. So 50’s Rock and Roll, Little Richard, Bill Haley, and if they are older the Four Freshman. Play elder’s music at your event and ask older vets or their wives or widows for stories of the Vietnam War, Korean War, or Iraq.

 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 to 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

CONNECT WITH CATHY CRESS MSW

  • Subscribe to my YouTube channel, Geriatric Care Management     
  • Subscribe to my blog 
  • Subscribe to my Facebook page 
  • Visit my website 
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Explore my GCM Business Class 
  • Check my GCM Operation Manual Class with 15 GCM Services for Clients

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Alive Inside, Alzheimers & Holidays, Benefits of Reminiscence, Black RN, Black Travel Nurses, Black Travel RN, Blog, care manager, Dementia & Holidays, Dementia Activities, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, Holiday Rituals in Aging Family, Holidays, Legacy Tools, Memoria lDay With Elders, Memorial Day, Memorial Day and Aging Veterans, Memorial Day Barbecue, Memorial Day Veterans, Memorial Day with elders, Memories for Elders, Music and Memory, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Quality of Life, Quality of Life and Reminicance, Quality of Life Reminiscence, Quality of Life with Dementia, Reminiscence Therapy, Retired Veterans, Senior Legacy, Seniors&Reminiscence, Spoiled Holiday Rituals, Story Worth, Technology for Geriatric Care Managers, Technology for Reminiscence, Technology for seniors Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, aging parent care, Alive Inside, black aging family, black american geriatric care managers, black american social workers, Black Entrepreneurs, Black RN's, Black start-up geriatric care management, Black travel nurses, care manager, case manager, geriatric care manager, Memorial Day barbecue. Music and memory, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, oral history, oral history and quality of life, reminicence and elder, Reminicence and geriatric care manager, Reminicence on Memorial Day, Reminicence Therapy, reminiscence, storytelling and elders, StoryWorth

Serve Reminiscence Along With Hotdogs on 4th of July

July 2, 2021

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

CONNECT WITH CATHY CRESS MSW

  • Subscribe to my YouTube channel, Geriatric Care Management     
  • Subscribe to my blog 
  • Subscribe to my Facebook page 
  • Visit my website 
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Explore my GCM Business Class 
  • Check my GCM Operation Manual Class with 15 GCM Services for Clients

s

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Blog, care manager, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Holiday Rituals in Aging Family Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, care manager, case manager, geriatric care manager, Memorial Day barbecue. Music and memory, nurse care manager, reminiscence

7 Tools to Spark Reminiscence As a Holiday Gift

December 1, 2019

Kali--Bill-Connies-book-.JPGReminiscence isn’t new.

If you work with older clients, reminiscence can be a cherished gift for their holiday celebration

Before the printing press, storytellers and bards were how history was recorded-

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

But storytelling 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. At the same time, you give the older person one to one attention, that they may not get often, someone interested in their past and warm memories of their childhood holidays

7 Ways to Capture That Family Ancestry On Holidays

Here are some tips to use if they want to capture these family tales during the coming festivities with aging parents—a perfect time to do this.

1. Use empathetic listening. This means to make all the messages you are are giving the older person— tone, how fast you speak, how they are sitting-  all saying, “I want to listen to them.”

 

2. 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.

3. 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.” What did you do on Christmas day? Did you open gifts at a special time?.” What was your favorite food on the holidays” ” ( you might ask before and make that special cookie and offer it to them?

4. Music is just next to memory in the brain shown by Alive Inside So use Alexa, Spotify, to play  40’s 50’s this Christmas music        

5. Simple ways to spark reminiscence on Holidays :

  • Look at old photos together; perhaps from Christmas past or can be anytime. Choose ones from a period of time the person currently remembers, which could be the person as a young adult, teenager, or even a young child.
  • Sing holiday songs together or play them on Alexa. Choose carols and songs the older person remembers well.
  • Enjoy food like a holiday cookie that is a family tradition or specialty, particularly ones that have an element of memory attached from family celebrations perhaps?
  • Attend a Christmas or Hannaka service where the elder enjoys the sensory experiences of the smells and the bells -the sight of the pageantry, the whiff of incense or, the sound of grandma_holding_rosary_shutterstock_40017103-255x255.jpga choir, quiet prayer said together or the touch of bright paper tearing from a gift.

 

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

 6. Life Bio-

7. Use Quick Voice Recorder to catch the memory on your phone

8. Use  some prompts for questions to ask that will help older people reminisce 

Reminiscence is part of a whole new domain in aging called quality of life or attending to the older person’s need for joy through activities that stimulate the mind. Reminiscence does that but find out more about how you can increase  the quality of life of older people  after the holidays  and all year long

Subscribe to my Youtube channel 

Filed Under: Adult children, Aging, Aging Family, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Blog, care manager, case manager, elder care manager, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, geriatric care manager, geriatric social worker, Holiday Rituals in Aging Family, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Reminiscence Therapy, Spiritual Quality of Life Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, care manager, case manager, geriatric care manager, holidays rituals, nurse care manager, reminicence and elder, Reminicence and geriatric care manager, reminiscence, reminiscence technology

Serve Reminicence Along With Hamburgers on Memorial Day

May 21, 2017


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

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Blog, care manager, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Holiday Rituals in Aging Family Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, care manager, case manager, geriatric care manager, Memorial Day barbecue. Music and memory, nurse care manager, reminiscence

Contact

Use the form on the
Contact page to email Cathy.

Email

Latest trending news

Connect with Cathy

Get Cathy’s “10 Critical Success Steps to a Profitable Aging Life or GCM Business”

  • Home
  • GCM Manual New 5th Edition
  • Books »
  • Services »
  • About
  • Recommendations
  • Blog »
  • Contact

Copyright © 2012–2023 CressGCMConsult & Cathy Cress - Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management | Developed by wpcustomify