While dating is never easy for anyone, if you have an elderly loved one who’s looking to start dating again after having been with someone for an extended period of time, learning how to date in the modern world can be a very overwhelming experience. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can help them with this.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for helping an older loved one start dating again.
Get Them In The Right Environment
When your elderly loved one first started dating, things were likely much different than they are now. And rather than trying to learn all new rules and ways of dating, they might want to just go back to how things worked for them in the past.
In order for this to work, you’ll have to get your loved one into the right environment. Places like assisted living facilities can be great places for elderly people to meet one another and strike up friendships and relationships. You could also encourage your loved one to join groups or clubs of people with common interests and of a common age so that they might organically meet someone they like. Another option is to use your network to set them up with someone they don’t know yet but that you feel could be compatible with them.
Introduce Them To Online Dating
If your elderly loved one is open to learning about modern ways of finding someone, you can always help them to get set up with online dating.
With the amount of online dating websites and apps available, you should be able to find a program that’s meant for people in similar situations as your elderly loved one. There are apps meant just for older people and apps that simply tend to draw an older audience. Either of these options could be a great place to start.
Consider A Few Timing Guidelines
For those who haven’t dated in years or even decades, knowing some of the guidelines for dating can be helpful.
As a good general rule, first dates should ideally be short. In around 20 to 30 minutes, your elderly loved one should be able to tell if they like the person they’re meeting or not. Additionally, after about three dates, it should become apparent to your loved one whether or not a relationship with someone would be something they are interested in. With these timing guidelines in place, you can help your loved one ensure that they aren’t wasting their time.
If you want to help your elderly loved one start dating again, consider using the tips mentioned above to see how to begin assisting them on this journey.