My grandpa is acting very childlike and selfish with not being able to go outside to do anything at all. We live in California with new cases breaking out every day. He already is sick with bronchitis which we have been treating and it is getting better so we think when he is healthy there will be nothing we can say to keep him home. He has been acting very rude to me and my parents who are his care givers by not wanting to do simple tasks such as; washing his hands, using tissues instead of hankies, taking a bath, changing his clothes. We are nearing our wits ends and patience because he fights us with everything and it’s all because he can’t go out to eat or go to the bank. We don’t want to expose him to anything more than what he currently has right now but he doesn’t care he’s saying he hopes he gets it and dies and that hurts all of us so much but he doesn’t care. We try and show him the news read him articles etc. but he doesn’t care because most of the announcements made are by Trump and he hates Trump and won’t believe a word he says. He keeps wanting to somehow leave our house and flee to North Carolina where his family is originally from but all of them are just as old or even more bad off with their health. His sisters have told him no he shouldn’t come over here to live and expect someone to be able to care for him because they are already in the care of other families or in hospice care etc. I’m lost on what to do to really show him how serious this virus is and how important it is for him to stay inside and not go outside at all because me and my parents already risk ourselves to go out and get the groceries we need for the month but that means going to several stores just to find what we need due to panic buying. Please help me and my family we are so lost on what to do.
Let him watch the war movies. The most important thing is that he stay in. If he crys that’s ok. It won’t kill him.
Record him talking about the war and let him watch himself.
Watch Teepa Snow on YouTube to teach yourself how to divert his attention.
Dont argue or try to convince him but do engage him. If he is interested in his ancestry check out ancestry.com. My aunt, 93 with dementia, loves to hear what I find about her family. Ask him who was his favorite singer when he was young. Look for songs that he remembers on YouTube. There are many oldies there.
Search for
War Songs of WW2
He will probably know the words.
Do a search of the National Cemeteries.
Read a chapter book to him
while he has a snack
Play battle with him. Everyday after lunch have the whole family play cards. Let him teach you things. Give him a mani pedi. A massage.
Plan his funeral. Let him talk. Look up funeral songs and sing them with him.
Maybe one or two of these things will help. Stay safe.
At some point, you may need to consider placing him in a Memory Care home if/when his behavior gets too much to handle at home. It's something we all face with demented elders. My mother lives in a Memory Care ALF and the team takes great care of her 24/7.
Wishing you the best of luck!