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

The home DHs grandfather was in used to have quizzes, an Elvis impersonator who was very popular, local choir who would go in and do performances, a pool league, they also used to have art classes led by a local artist , gardening club, it was pretty good

Oh, great, how thrilling it would be to be a resident in there with you...

I hope if I'm ever forced to go into a care home (and I'd rather die) that I won't be subjected to ANY music. I like peace and quiet.

I am 70, I want Hendrix. The Who, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Little Feat, Fairport Convention....................................

Not at all unreasonable.

I am looking forward to hearing The Stranglers and Stiff Little Fingers in my care home rather than Vera Lynn.

(I'm not quite needing care yet)

I hope not...

My cousin worked for a while in a hospital where they had put world war 2 photos on the corridor walls including pictures of children in bombed out buildings, not considering that there were elderly people still suffering from Ptsd as they had actually lived through this as children.

Excellent, I will join you in the same care home!

Have you got dementia and are you posting at a lucid moment?

This! People working in case homes are on the lowest wage in the country - often lower than shelf stackers, for example. Caring is an incredibly skillful, difficult and challenging job, and the wages nowhere near reflect that. Because of that, a majority of staff are often not very educated and/or very young, with no life experience. Despite this, the vast majority of staff give the role their all. Unfortunately (because of issues like appalling low wages) it also means care homes are routinely understaffed, and with all the will and knowledge in the world, they are only able to do so much.

Families can help enormously by making staff aware of their loved ones likes, dislikes, hobbies, life experiences, etc. So to any loved ones of people in care - please share all you can!

Most likely the staff hasn't got a clue and work hard for a low wage not paying a lot of attention to entertainment.

Why can’t they just choose their own songs to play and films to watch?

"I hope I die before I get old" Best words from a song.

FFS right back at you 😀

ageism like any prejudice stems from ignorance

if they are playing Vera Lynn on the assumption that is what their residents link without even asking them - that’s pushing an ageist stereotype

and it’s the complete opposite of ‘trying their best’

Okay, I'm 60 on Thursday. I never want to hear some of the shite my parents played ever again. Al Martino, Jim Reeves, Matt Monro? No f#cking thanks... My older brother and I were into Thin Lizzy, Alice Cooper, Free, Bad Company, Status Quo, and AC/DC. I'd rather rock my final years away, thanks....

It’s not (see my post above).

Love this. I see you x

My mum was in a care home 2018-2023, and I recall at one time feeling a bit taken aback when I visited and they were playing 70s music, as it was music I grew up with, and I didn’t see myself as being that old, but then realised that as we were on a dementia floor, there were some residents who were late 60s/early 70s, and that this would have been the music of their 20s/early 30s so of course they would have a lot of memories associated with that era.

They also played a lot of 50s and 60s music, sometimes Smooth radio in the background (so fairly current stuff) and also did the war time and pre-war music hall stuff as entertainment. Oh, and some classical, choral performers and occasional entertainment reflecting different cultural backgrounds.

Its interesting that many people dont know about the appropriate stimulation for those in cognitive decline/dementia

While someone might have liked a particular pop/rock band growing up, one part of that stimulation is reigniting long term deep memories, it helps the elasticity of the brain, so playing older stuff from when the people were children rather than teens is helpful. Songs or phrase their parents or grandparents might have used for example.

Doing repetitive activities which aid fine motor control but also create patterns within the brain of simple movements are helpful

Theres lots more to it of course and not eveyrone in a care home is at the same stage so they have to have quite a range and not everything will suit everyone.

100% agree.

when my mum and dad retired at 65 they went on an over 65 cruise and it was all wartime songs. They were born in the late 40s. Their era was the swinging 60s and 70s.

Im mid fifties, I’ve been looking for social groups to join and all local over 50s ones are during the day. Most of the people I know my age work and will be for many more years.

Oh, ffs, I don't think there's an agenda, I think they're trying their best.

It’s absurd. They should be asking the residents what they like instead of pushing ageist stereotypes

Say what you like about soft plays, but the ones near me all understand that their adult clientele are millennial or older Z and do their playlist accordingly.

I'm currently in a town in Austria where there is an annual event for motorbikes and bikers. We went to look at the hundreds of very big, comfortable touring bikes (Harley Davidson, Indian, Triumph, BMW, Honda etc) all costing north of £25,000 - and seemingly all ridden by leather-clad blokes (and ladies) whose average age would be well over 60. Unsurprising really as these are the people with the time and money to own bikes like this.

Down the road in the neighbouring town there is also an annual event - this one is for Vespa scooters and we've also been there to see around a hundred of them, many of the scooters and their owners being from the 1950s.

As far as I know there have been no clashes between the two groups!

In ten years time, many of these bikers and scooter owners will probably be in care homes and certainly won't be listening to music from the 1930s and 1940s. They grew up with the Beatles, Stones, Elvis and later performers like Tina Turner, Meatloaf, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Status Quo and more.