While we cannot stress enough the importance of entertainment when it comes to a child’s development, we often seem to ignore the benefits it offers elderly people.
It is true that both young and older people need entertainment in their lives to keep them going and feeling alive. In fact, boredom can lead to long-term issues that, in consequence, lead to death. According to a British research among civil servants, it was found that people who said they were bored at work “were 250 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than their peers.”
The same goes for elderly citizens. They need to be kept active and alert in order to live longer and happier lives.
Social interaction has been argued to help them maintain mental and physical health, while positive relationships can allegedly boost their immune system and improve their health.
And this is why children and grandchildren should make sure to spend quality time with their senior relatives in order to help them live longer.
Like this family did for their 94-year old great-grandpa on the Fourth of July.
A couple of weeks ago, and during the 4th of July celebrations, an Oklahoma family made sure their elderly great-grandpa would have the time of his life.
United States Army Air Corps veteran, Roy Beller, was having a great time with his whole family in their yard, when some of the family members had an idea. They would make grandpa famous by filming a video of him that would go viral on social media.
“We told him we would make him famous. Let’s see how many shares we can get,” Michael Graham wrote on Facebook. “When your 94 year old Papa says I’m going down the water slide that means he’s going down the water slide!”
Graham posted a video on Facebook of the elderly man flying down the waterslide into the pool and it soon went viral.
Within the first few days, it has already been viewed by more than 8 million people, while it has been liked and shared by thousands.
In the video in question, the man is helped on the slide by one of his children, while three other relatives are around them in case they need help. When they finally make it to the top, the elderly man sits and he puts on a cowboy hat.
Everyone is excited about the impressive finale, and the man, too, is ready for “a big splash”!
With his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren around, Beller has nothing to fear and slides towards the pool. Everyone cheers for him and, they can’t hold back their enthusiasm when the man finally joins them in the pool.
The short video has taken the Internet by storm, which the elderly man finds hard to explain.
“I figured it would get a few hundred views,” Graham told Today. “But when it hit a million, I called them up and said ‘Well, you got a million views’ and he said ‘Why in the world would a million people want to watch me going down a slide?’”
The reason, at least to us, is obvious: it just makes your day to see a man his age doing what looks like an extreme sport! It is really encouraging to see young people including elderly family members in their activities!
You can watch the viral video below.
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