Keeping the mind active

[Aroundtheworldinaday]

My parents are late 70’s, very active. My Dad is due to retire shortly.
He exercises, which is good but I’m wondering what he can do to keep his rather clever brain active.
Is there anything anyone can recommend. He and Mum are very different in that she’s happy to stay in, odd lunch out, garden centre or shopping visit. So whilst they will do things together, me and my siblings feel he needs something a bit more to stay mentally active.

Someone suggested crosswords and sudoku but there are only so many of those you can do. Would really appreciate some suggestions, thanks

Voluntary work? As soon as my dad retired he signed up as a volunteer at the local museum and it became almost a part of his personality. He also volunteered his electrical skills to the local hardship charity who paid for him to train as a PAT tester so that they could certify the electrical goods they were giving away. Industrial archaeology was his passion so the museum met that interest and the PAT testing again took him out of the house and kept him using his skills.

He also had a dog and walked him 10 miles a day even in his 80's.

Get him to look into u3a - might be some groups of interest? Or researching family tree?

Is there a branch of the U3A locally? They run many different groups depending on members' interests.

What are his professional skills? Could he find stimulation and satisfaction in being a school governor or trustee of a local charity?

My dad learned to play bridge and joined a bridge club, that I think is local but plays online a lot which is very useful as they go away a lot and he doesn't miss his weekly game!
He struggled a bit when he first retired as he didn't really have any hobbies.

What does he do for work? Is it something he could use in the voluntary sector? What interests does he currently have?

I knew someone as a child who was amazing as an older person. He used to make things with metal using an arc welder (we still have things he made for us and he died 30 odd years ago). He also learnt Russian and taught himself to programme in the days of MS-Dos and Basic. He was a very intelligent and had a curious mind. I think if someone is like that, they will find their own challenges.

My own father spent a year watching TV when he retired. I think he just liked the fact that he could do that after spending his entire working life in the office. Drive my mother potty. Then he bought himself a small yacht and did that until he was 80.

I think it's important to have social connections as well as mental and physical exercise. At retirement all those work social interactions taken for granted suddenly stop. No more meetings or chats in the kitchen or dealing with clients. It's important to keep engaging with other people, particularly if one spouse is naturally inclined to be more introverted.

My parents in law have no social circle of friends and no interests or hobbies that bring them into contact with other people. They don't even speak to their neighbours. They love their own company and are utterly devoted to eachother and but firstly it doesn't seem very healthy and secondly when one of them goes the other will be completely bereft.

Learn another language - I started with Spanish and am now learning Germsn

learn an instrument - I took up recorder
join a choir

u3a is a good call.

How will your Dad feel about you suggesting things to keep his mind active? Please think carefully before you say anything. I am the same age and am perfectly capable of sorting things out for myself.

I am really close with all my children and would not welcome them advising me on this topic.

I third the u3a (for both of them!) He can find out the nearest group here. Each one is run locally by its members, so the groups offered may vary considerably from one u3a to the next

u3a - Find your local u3a

Im getting on a bit and I love puzzles like sudoku.

What does he say he wants to do?

Might be able to support him in that.

Do a course on something you always wanted to do but didn't. There are lots of OU courses, such as creative writing, music, astronomy, maths, computing, and you meet lots of people if you go to the tutorials. Or learn a new language maybe something challenging like Russian or Chinese.

As others have said get DNA tests done (Ancestry?) and do your family tree. From the DNA you find all sorts of distant relatives that you can contact if you want. Hobbies from your youth, stamps, coins, 'cigarette' cards, etc. All the things you haven't had time for for many years.

Thank you for your replies, they’re really helpful.

@Rictasmorticia good point , but we always chat about what he can or could be doing, he hasn’t been offended when it when any of us is have. He took parkrun up a few years ago upon a friends suggestion. But you’re right, not everyone would see this as helpful, no matter how well meaning.

I think the ancestry is a good shout, he would probably enjoy that once he has the extra time. He does get out and about, this is more for winter I suppose when the weather isn’t as welcoming for a walk, and he can keep his mind doing something.
I haven’t heard of U3a so will take a look

Thanks - this has been a great help x

I might get him some - he used to do sudoku I think

Bridge, honestly it's a absolutely brilliant game for the mind and you play as partners it's social too.

Bridge clubs quite often run weekly beginners lessons which are a good introduction.

My late dm LOVED computer - mainly simulation and tycoon games. These are great on a rainy afternoon.

My uncle became chair of the local golf club - lots of socialising.

There is also a successful board games club that meets regularly near me; and a group that plays chess, bridge, backgammon etc.

My dad took up carpentry again and would build beautiful shelf units and cabinets.

I shall suggest this, thanks. He used to play chess regularly some years ago. Will see if there are local clubs for that too

My FIL enjoys playing bridge against real opponents but remotely using an app. My Mum enjoys playing Scrabble against the computer.

My Mum (84 next birthday) also really enjoys a folk dance club she goes to.

I don't know if your dad would be into something like that, but as men are always massively outnumbered at these things, he'd probably be popular!

Truly, no disrespect meant, but it highlights (to me) English philistinism. Wheel some oldie out like a puppet on a string - U3A, voluntary work, crossword puzzles. What it might mean to them - or its actual purpose - seems secondary or irrelevant.

Do you actually have a lot of over 80s in your life @SaltySupper, especially men? I've watched my dad go downhill rapidly due to lack of intellectual stimulation in later retirement. I think my mum, MIL and FIL have been very sensible to find appropriate hobbies and pastimes (my mum actually still practices as a professional artist which is where she finds meaning - but there are a lot of hours to fill in a week).

Yes, learning music and a new language are both said to open up new pathways in the brain. I took up the piano again after retiring - after a 50 year gap, and I’d only ever passed grade 2. So new pathways were soon forged as my almost non existent sight reading improved with practice.

Exactly