How Can Children Spend Time With A Grandparent Who Has Dementia
Dementia changes the way a grandparent communicates, remembers people and interacts with their family, but it doesn’t mean the relationship with their grandchildren has to come to an end.

With a little preparation and the right dementia-friendly activities, families can help children feel comfortable and included during visits. Here are some easy ways to help grandchildren stay connected with a grandparent living with dementia.

How Can Children Spend Time With A Grandparent Who Has Dementia?

For children, spending time with a grandparent with dementia can be more meaningful than you think. Together, they can enjoy simple activities such as looking through family photos, listening to music, drawing, baking or going for a short walk together outside. The most important thing here is spending quality time together, without expecting a grandparent to remember everything that happened during the visit.

The Benefits Of Staying Connected to Grandparents

You might think that your child won’t be able to have a connection with their grandparent with dementia, but the condition does not take away the importance of spending time together.

Regular visits to a care home can actually help grandchildren feel that their grandparent is still an important part of the family, while giving grandparents the comfort of familiar faces and shared experiences as well as something to look forward to (depending on the stage of dementia).

These visitations can also help children learn valuable lessons about empathy, patience and understanding.

They begin to understand that although dementia can affect memory and communication, it doesn’t change the love and connection families share.

For grandparents, even if they cannot remember every visit afterwards, the laughter, conversation and music still bring much-needed comfort and enjoyment at the time.

Those positive experiences can improve your loved one’s well-being and help reduce feelings of loneliness. Staying connected helps children and their grandparents continue making the most of the time they have together, despite the challenges of dementia.

Children Visiting Grandparent With Dementia | Things to Do

You really don’t need to plan elaborate activities for your child to enjoy spending time with their grandparent who has dementia.

In many cases, the most memorable visits come from doing ordinary things together, as long as they feel included and enjoy each other’s company. If you need any assistance with visitations, trained carers can give you some tips on how to make the most of your time.

Here are a few tips for care home visits:

Look Through Old Family Photos

Family pictures often bring up stories that your children have never heard before. For instance, your loved one might talk about the place where a picture was taken, recognise a familiar face or just thoroughly enjoy looking through some old memories together. If they can’t remember every detail, that’s perfectly fine – just let the conversation develop naturally without correcting them.

Listen To Music They Love

Putting on some of their favourite songs from younger years can completely change the atmosphere of a visit. Children might enjoy singing and dancing together or asking about the music their grandparent used to listen to. Remember, with dementia, even if words have become difficult, music often remains familiar.

Draw Or Make Something Together

Younger children love colouring, painting, drawing and making crafts. So, sitting together around a table gives everyone something to focus on, which can make conversation feel much more relaxed than sitting face-to-face.

Bake Or Help Prepare Food

Getting into the kitchen to make fairy cakes, decorate biscuits or prepare sandwiches gives children a chance to help out while spending time with their grandparent. Familiar recipes can also bring back positive memories, making conversation flow a bit better.

Spend Time Outside

If the weather is nice, a walk around the garden or sitting outdoors together for a while in the fresh air can make visits feel more relaxed. Children always like being outside and can point out flowers, birds or interesting insects, giving everyone something to talk about without putting pressure on the conversation.

Read Together

Reading a favourite story book or even today’s newspaper can be a lovely way to spend quiet time together. Younger children usually enjoy reading aloud, while older grandchildren can chat about what they’ve read if their grandparent wants to join in.

When Visits Don’t Go As Planned

Families often expect every visit to be similar, but as you probably already know, dementia doesn’t work like that.

A grandparent who used to be chatty and engaged might now seem tired, distracted or confused. Changes like these are common and do not always mean their dementia has suddenly worsened.

They May Forget Who Someone Is

There will likely be times when your loved one struggles to remember their grandchild’s name or doesn’t recognise them straight away. Although upsetting, it is a symptom of dementia, so make sure your child doesn’t take it personally.

Avoid turning the moment into a test of memory and introduce your child naturally, continuing the conversation and moving on without drawing unnecessary attention to it.

Children Will Have Questions

Children often notice repeated questions, muddled conversations or changes in behaviour no matter how small.

Rather than avoiding the subject, answer their questions honestly using words they can understand. Knowing why their grandparent behaves differently can make future visits feel much less worrying.

Every Visit Doesn’t Need To Be Perfect

You might find some visits are full of conversation, but others may be much quieter — but that doesn’t mean the visit has been unsuccessful. Spending time together still helps

Supporting Family Relationships Through Dementia

Dementia may change the way a grandparent and grandchild spend time together, but it doesn’t mean that relationship has to end.

With the right support and realistic expectations, families can absolutely continue enjoying visits and creating positive experiences together throughout their loved one’s dementia journey.

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