AIBU to think care homes need more age-appropriate entertainment?

I don't think it's universal (thankfully). My Mum is in a care home and they've had an Elvis impersonator recently as well as a guy who sang Neil Diamond songs - my Mum loves ND so was very pleased. I don't think they've ever had any wartime stuff, D-Day celebrations aside.

Some of the activities like this one are more to do with maintaining independence for as long as possible. Especially for people with earlier to mid stage dementia, Parkinsons, arthritis and so on. Fine motor skills are required for fastening your buttons and undoing to trousers for the toilet. The longer the person can keep doing these things for themselves the better as ultimately no one wants help going to the loo.

The care home I'm involved with have a huge range of activities, some are a sneaky way to keep them active ('dancing' in their chair), some help with fine motor skills like jewellery making and colouring in etc. There's a huge CD and DVD collection for all tastes. Most are donated though so next time you're having a clear out offer them up to the home.

There are care homes on social media with very imaginative activity coordinators. They do have more modern takes, i’ve even seen raves with glow sticks, the communal room with a nightclub and tickets/bouncers etc. I’d imagine that the budgets are pretty low and many don’t even have regular staff for it despite care home fees being so high. They also have to take on board everyone’s needs.

My dads sheltered accom ( not care) had modern music at their recent party and they have zumba in the communal area each week.

Not all care home staff are young unexperienced unimaginative people 🙄

I go to a leisure centre where they do walking football as part of stroke recovery. It's lovely watching them particularly when they meet up in the cafe for a post match debrief.

It would be bloody ridiculous if they are still churning out old war music and movies. My music era is anything from Glam Rock Queen, Bowie, T Rex, to BTS and Sabrina Carpenter. No disrespect to Vera Lynn but she was old fashioned when I was born in the 60s, never mind when I’m old.

My mother was born in 1923, so she was in her late teens early 20s during the war. She couldn't stand Vera Lynn. She adored Elvis.

It's like their clientele have moved on but they are stuck in some kind of time warp that they think they should be in.

A lasting memory of my time as a care assistant in the 90s was of the residents bobbing their heads along to 'I'm horny ... horny, horny, horny!' that came on the radio.

How do they differ in their approach?
im not being sarcastic , im interested

I have often wondered about this too. My mum was born in 1933 (she died a couple of years ago) and any cultural references about the war went right over her head. She knew popular war time songs, but only in the same way that I know them - from a bygone era.

Care homes are one of a few things the Americans actually do very well

They really do need to come up with a more varied range of activities. We found that they infantilised the residents of my mums care home, nearly every time we visited , mum was threading plastic beads onto elastic to make a bracelet, she was an intelligent woman and would have loved a proper pub quiz and not the ridiculously easy quizzes that they put on. I know they have to cater for everyone but there were quite a few that were sharp mentally. It was quite difficult to bring it up without the care home taking offence.

My husband’s grandmother is one year older than your MIL. Her favorite movie is “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

The place she’s at (in a Midwestern US state) has had some more modern media at times, but there do seem to be a lot of 1940s movies scheduled to play in the day room.

I think this idea will be appearing on The Apprentice next season. Sounds like a winner to me.

So do I but these are the acts from when I was 10 so I don’t think it helps OP’s argument as her mother in law was 10 on D Day.

I would be scared now!

Warn them to watch out for the residents who dress in parkas and the ones who insist on leather jackets, they will be revving up their mobility scooters and heading for Brighton for a rumble if they don’t keep them occupied!

Round here they have Elvis impersonators - (NW) !

Absolutely… if anybody sings Vera Lynn to me if I have to go into a care home, I won’t be responsible for my actions… I’m 71

Sounds like you need to speak to management. It certainly isn't "universal". I work in care and have done for over 10 years in a variety of homes. Where I am now we would only have that type of music for D day etc. The rest of the time it changes depending on our residents and their tastes because it's person centred.

We also have a bar which the residents love, do a variety of activities, have lots of different groups from the community in and have set up our own beach with paddling pools and sand as, unfortunately, the majority of our residents wouldn't be able to go to the beach so this is an accessible way of doing it. We have bbqs in the summer, cocktail making etc.

I'd strongly advise speaking to either management or the activity coordinator to express your own idea. You could also bring them up at relatives meetings and see what others think.

Hahaha

That is exactly the spirit needed.

I will be the one shouting “fuck off, I was at T in the Park!”

Someone put on Pretty Woman for film night, a number of ladies walked out after the first few minutes

Mu mum had dancing queen at her funeral last year she was 82.