How to Use Coloring Apps with Your Elderly Loved One

Elderly Care in Bridgehampton NY

Coloring is wonderfully relaxing and can be a lot of fun, but not everyone enjoys using traditional coloring methods. If your loved one has arthritis, she may not want to hold colored pencils or other tools, for instance. One way around this is to use apps on your smartphone or tablet that allow your loved one to color digitally. She’ll still get the art therapy benefits of coloring, but it can be an easier method.

Finding the Apps

The first step in choosing coloring apps is to go to the app store on your device. If you can use a tablet for coloring, that is a better idea because it gives your loved one more screen space with which to work. You can still get the same benefits from these apps with a smartphone, though, especially since almost every app has the ability to make the coloring space larger. Try searching the app for “coloring” or “adult coloring.” Browse the free apps first, because they still offer all of the features you could want. You might want to download and install one or two first so that you can test them out and make sure that they’ll work for your loved one.

Coloring Together

Once you have the apps installed, it’s time to color. Although every app is slightly different, they have a lot in common. First your loved one will be able to choose a design to color. From there, she’ll have a palette of colors from which to choose. Most often she’ll simply need to tap the color to select it and then tap the space that she wants to shade in that color. Some coloring apps allow you to add textures to make the colors look as though you colored with crayons or colored pencils, but not all have this feature.

Finishing Up

After the design is fully colored in, your loved one can decide what to do with the finished product. Almost every app has the ability to share the finished product on social media, which could be a great way for your loved one to keep in touch with other family members. You could also email the finished product or even screenshot it to print it out. If she wants, your loved one can even erase the entire project and start coloring that same picture again.

Using coloring apps is just another way to help your loved one benefit from all that coloring has to offer.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional elderly care in Bridgehampton, NY, call the caring staff at Artful Home Care today at 631-685-5001.