Table for Two – Why Eating with a Senior is so Important

We hear it on the news all of the time — families just do not sit down and eat together anymore. Our hurried lifestyles are getting in the way of quality time with our families at the dinner table. While it is important to have a sit-down meal with your children, it is equally as important to have frequent sit-down meals with your aging parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends.

Seniors who eat alone have a higher chance of becoming under- or mal-nourished. They often do not eat a proper diet or enough of the foods provided for them. That is why it is important to slow down, sit a while, enjoy the meal, and have a good conversation with the senior in your life. Not only will companionship at the dinner table make mealtime more enjoyable for seniors, but it can also stimulate appetite — helping to insure they get proper nutrition for good health and independence.

In addition to sitting down and eating with seniors, preparing a meal can be just as important. When you prepare a meal together, you also provide your loved one mental stimulation that is essential to health and independence — as you strengthen your bond together. This time together also provides the opportunity to observe how the senior is getting along and if he or she may need additional help around the house.

The professional caregivers of Comfort Keepers^® do all of these things, providing this same type of stimulation to seniors through Interactive Caregiving^TM, our unique system of care that engages seniors mentally, physically, socially and emotionally to improve their quality of life.