One of the most meaningful and rewarding activities you can share with your senior loved ones is to create a storytelling connection with them. It can be surprising for seniors to realize how much they have been through and how far they have come. Besides, talking about their life experiences keeps their minds active and engaged while improving communication and reducing care-related stress.
Your senior loved one may surprise you with details you knew nothing about before or share valuable life insights you can put into practice. So, recording the stories you hear from senior loved ones during the holidays can be a lot of fun and a life-changing experience. Here are three ways to record holiday stories from senior relatives for posterity.
Start with Simple Questions to Roll the Conversation
The best way to guide a storytelling session is to ask questions to start the conversation and keep it going. Examples of questions you can ask are the following:
- Did you have a nickname as a kid?
- What's the strangest thing you've ever eaten?
- What were your parents like?
- What did you learn from parenting?
- What's your most incredible life memory?
Remember to go at the senior's pace and give them time to narrate at their pace, prompting additional details as necessary. Allow them to pause as long as needed if it helps them remember details.
Use Your Phone's Voice Recording Feature
Your smartphone probably has a native voice recorder app you can use to record these stories. You can opt for the camera app to record a video. Find a quiet room where background noise doesn't impair the recording. For the best result, it's best to position the phone at an equal distance between the two of you so that it picks both of your voices equally.
You also must be mindful of your seating arrangement, sitting by the side of the camera and having the senior look at you instead of the camera for the best recording.
Store the Recording in the Cloud for Access in the Future
After recording the storytelling sessions, don't leave them on your phone or computer where they could get lost or damaged. Uploading them on the cloud is a better way of allowing you and other relatives to access them when they want and download them easily. Doing so will prevent fights over who has the files. You can also create hard copies so you have a tape that you can replay at future family gatherings.
Don't Wait for the Holidays to Create Memories with Senior Loved Ones
Seniors can find it therapeutic to share family and life stories with members of their families. The good thing is that you don't have to wait until the holiday season to hear more from your senior loved one. Consider having storytelling sessions as often as time allows and when your loved one is up to it. Then, record these sessions to revisit them in the future and preserve family memories.
At Senior Helpers, we assist seniors in living their best lives. We can extend our services to you if you're considering professional in-home care for your senior loved one in Fellsmere, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, and Okeechobee. Contact us to schedule a consultation or an in-home assessment.