Please: Turn OFF the News!
Graphic Photos (ANY Disturbing /Bad News) WILL Affect Mom or Dad
If Mom or Dad has Alzheimer’s / dementia / cognitive impairment, please TURN OFF THE TV! As we teach in Betty’s Tenets™ and prove every day: Mom and Dad CAN COMPREHEND the frightening news and/or graphic images they see and hear on the news, in movies, or in stories. Worse, they sometimes CAN RETAIN them. [YOU likely will, too.]
In either case, their brains WILL have the appropriate emotional reaction (e.g., horror, sadness, worry, fear). Alas, their brains might NOT be able to process and healthfully release the negative emotions. The results can include: sleeplessness, agitation, negative activities, etc. That will likely trigger anti-agitation medication, which will likely diminish cognition, which will likely diminish Mom’s and Dad’s daily Joy….
So, practice Betty’s Love, instead!
Focus their attention on JOY. Watch POSITIVE, UPLIFTING, HAPPY TV, like The Ellen Show or Animal Planet. Or go out WITH Mom or Dad and focus on all they CAN enJOY, including these Betty’s Three ThingsTM for today:
1. EnJOY the mild weather – or the beauty of snow! If it’s mild (or you’re one of our families in Australia!), bundle up Grandma for a walk outdoors. If you can’t, sit at the window and watch children play in the snow. In either case: Betty’s Love can teach you how to engage Grandma to boost cognition, connections, and JOY!
2. Watch, name, and listen to the birds – or listen to happy music. Whistle with Mom to a cardinal – and experience Mom’s pure JOY when the cardinal whistles back! Or, put on a 1940s swing song and dance with Mom in the kitchen! If Gram is further along in her journey, choose her favorite classical composer – and simply hold her hand while you both enjoy its strains. If Grandpa is in hospital or in an agitated state, choose spiritual songs and watch his calm return.
3. Watch golf or, better: KEEP Dad golfing! Golf tournaments are (usually) calm and the venues lovely. Better, go golfing with Dad! Even if he can’t swing, he will enJOY the camaraderie, landscape, and just BEing with you!
Read more about our core programs and services for families like yours. They’re practical, proven, and positive. AND, in Betty’s Love, there’s always a Betty Gavin Signature Hug AND LAUGHTER waiting for YOU! To learn more about all your family CAN do with JOY to connect with those you love – at every age, in every stage, every day – contact us.