How to help my dad?

My dad has been signed off work for a week by his doctor and I am unsure what to do with him.

Long story short his dad died in Feb and it would have been his birthday this Sat, so obviously hes down over that.

I am at home most days during the summer (woo no money and woo no-one hiring just for summer) and as it happens my sister is off this week too. But I am stuck as to what to do with him, he's bored of the TV, but quite restless, I make him food and stuff but I'm at a loss.

Any help would be great.

Reply 1

t0a5t3r

Any hobbies of your dad you could both enjoy? Mine was a big fan of comedy like Blackadder, Faulty towers and Red Dwarf, so we used to watch DVD's for hours. If he's bored of tv couldn't you go out somewhere he likes? And to a cafe - dads love grub.

Reply 2

"Cheer Up Charlie"

20,000 piece jig-saw! :smile:

Reply 3

one2three_abc

play a game with him or something...

...Happy Families card game! although that's rubbish with 2 people.
or just general card games, or similar.

Reply 4

*sweetness*

my dads been off work for 6 months and during study leave i just used to play cards and board games with him rather than actually study...
why dont you just ask him what he wants to do?
it depends if hes house-bound aswell coz that means your gunna have to come up with more imagination on what you guys can do

Reply 5

randdom

You say he was signed off work by his doctor is that because he is sick or because he is unhappy? If it is because he is unhappy it might be worth going for a walk somewhere to get a change of scenery and some fresh air.

Reply 6

Son of Makuta

Try some multiplayer console/computer gaming, if he likes that sort of thing (if not, introduce him to it. Get him to play Portal, he'll never be the same again :wink:

).

Agree with t0a5t3r on the hobby point, too.

Reply 7

Elvendork

Take him out to a park, or go bowling! That's always a nice family activity :smile:

Reply 8

Danny the Geezer

Go for a walk in the park, it's a nice day. You'll be suprised how much it cheers him up.

Reply 9

mollymustard

If he can leave the house then a few walks, or going out for lunch with him might be nice.
Otherwise you can always do things like board games, card games jigsaws etc. You might be able to get a big craft kit and make a big ben out of little matchsticks or something you never know.
Hopefully, just keeping him company should help lift his spirits a little.

Reply 10

3105

Along with any of the above suggestions, give him a hug.

Reply 11

t0a5t3r

If he has regular access to the internet introduce him to something new. You can learn to do pretty much anything on the internet (i found a 'learn to fly' tutorial a couple of years back - didn't work :P).

If you google 'instructables' that website has tutorials on how to make anything from robots to stuffed toys, and even some weird things like how to sew your ears into an 'elf-like' shape.

http://www.instructables.com/

There's thousands of things you could do together - lots of it with common household items.