{"id":372,"date":"2026-05-21T00:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/enjoying-a-mothers-day-meal-7-dementia-tips\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T00:37:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T00:37:54","slug":"enjoying-a-mothers-day-meal-7-dementia-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/enjoying-a-mothers-day-meal-7-dementia-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoying a Mothers\u2019 Day Meal: 7 Dementia Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mothers’ Day in the USA is Sunday. Are you thinking of going out with your Mom who has Alzheimer’s? Or perhaps you are planning to have a special meal at home. In either case, here are some tips to keep in mind when hosting Mom with Alzheimer’s.<\/p>\n

Celebrating Mother’s Day Despite Dementia<\/h3>\n

With the rise in Alzheimer\u2019s disease and its special impact on women, more families are celebrating Mother\u2019s Day with moms who have dementia. Nearly two-thirds of the Americans with Alzheimer\u2019s are women, whose greater life expectancy means they are more likely than men to develop dementia. While brunch is a much-savored Mother\u2019s Day tradition, dementia can make dining difficult. An expert offers important tips for honoring Mom with a holiday meal that will be a delicious and delightful experience for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmell and taste often diminish, making meals less enjoyable and many times leading to loss of interest in food,\u201d said Kelly Scott, vice president of Emeritus Senior Living, the nation\u2019s largest memory care provider. She notes that currently, 16 percent of female Americans age 71 and above have the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs dementia progresses, it can also become physically difficult to eat,\u201d Scott said. \u201cThose with the disease may begin to have trouble using utensils. Their depth perception could be affected, making it hard to manage food on a plate and lift it to the mouth. Chewing and swallowing can become problems. But there are a number of ways to address these issues so you and your mother can have a lovely occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Home for Mother’s Day<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019d like to serve your memory-impaired mom a special meal at home on Mother\u2019s Day, Scott says the following approaches can be helpful:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Plan a menu of your mother\u2019s favorite fare, even if it\u2019s not what you would normally prepare at that time of day, and remind her that she has always loved it. This will help spark her interest in eating.\n<\/li>\n
  2. Bring the meal out one item at a time so it\u2019s easier to focus on it: for example, first the fruit salad, then the French toast, and then the bacon.\n<\/li>\n
  3. Create color contrast between the tablecloth, the plates, and the food being served, so each is easy to visually distinguish.\n<\/li>\n
  4. Set the table with shallow bowls with wide brims rather than flat plates or deep bowls for all of the fare; they\u2019re easy and neat to dine from.\n<\/li>\n
  5. Provide utensils with large, easy-to-grasp handles.\n<\/li>\n
  6. Consider dispensing with utensils and offering the meal finger-food style, so that flatware doesn\u2019t have to be managed. An egg dish could become an egg sandwich.\n<\/li>\n
  7. Give your mother her beverages in the same kind of glasses that others are using, but provide a straw to make them easier to sip.\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Taking Mom Out for Mother’s Day<\/h3>\n

    If you wish to take your mother out to eat, Scott offers these tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. If possible, choose a restaurant that your mother is already familiar with.<\/li>\n
    2. Go at an off-peak time and even consider celebrating on a different day, rather than Mother\u2019s Day Sunday, to reduce the noise and distractions that can come of being in a crowded place.<\/li>\n
    3. Create and bring a menu for your mother to look at that offers just two meal choices, rather than overwhelm her with selecting from the restaurant\u2019s menu.<\/li>\n
    4. Expect that when the food is brought to the table, your mother may not recall what she ordered and might wish to have what you selected. It\u2019s best to let her have your dish, rather than try to remind her that it\u2019s not what she picked.<\/li>\n
    5. Realize that your mother may eat very slowly and don\u2019t try to rush her.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cMother\u2019s Day is a wonderful and important tradition and Alzheimer\u2019s disease shouldn\u2019t keep you from celebrating with your mother,\u201d Scott said. \u201cThe key is thinking ahead to making her dining experience as easy as possible. This way, she and everyone at the table can focus on what matters most, which is sharing special time together on this joyous occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \n

      SOURCE: <\/strong>g (Formerly Emeritus Senior Living)<\/p>\n

      \n

      \"ai<\/p>\n

      Mother’s Day Gifts<\/h3>\n

      s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      The post s appeared first on y.<\/p>\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Mothers’ Day in the USA is Sunday. Are you thinking of going out with your Mom who has Alzheimer’s? Or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dementia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":513,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions\/513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}