{"id":7738,"date":"2026-09-29T20:49:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T20:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/?p=7738"},"modified":"2026-09-29T21:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T21:19:57","slug":"helping-a-lonely-parent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visiting-angels.co.uk\/cheshire-east\/helping-a-lonely-parent\/","title":{"rendered":"How to help a lonely parent: what works"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Quick summary<\/b><\/h3>

Phoning more often rarely fixes loneliness. Having something in the diary usually helps more. What works is a small number of regular, predictable commitments with other people, plus solving whatever practical thing is stopping them going out. Transport and confidence are the two most common blockers.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

How common is it?<\/b><\/h3>

Common enough that most families are dealing with some version of it.<\/span><\/p>

Age UK’s analysis found that around 7 per cent of people aged 65 and over in the UK, roughly 940,000 people, are often lonely, and that around 270,000 older people in England go a week without speaking to a friend or family member. Those people are almost three times more likely to be lonely than people who speak to others more often.<\/span><\/p>

The NHS puts the scale another way: more than 2 million people in England over 75 live alone, and more than a million older people say they go over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member (<\/span>NHS, Loneliness in older people<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Why it matters beyond feeling sad<\/b><\/h3>

Age UK’s report links loneliness with acceleration of frailty and increased risk of physical and mental illness, including a 29 per cent increase in the risk of coronary heart disease, a 32 per cent increase in the risk of stroke and a 25 per cent increased risk of dementia. Nine in ten older people who are often lonely are also unhappy or depressed.<\/span><\/p>

There is also a practical loop that occurs. Someone who stops going out walks less, gets weaker, becomes less steady, then feels less able to go out. Loneliness and falls risk feed each other.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Is my mum lonely?<\/b><\/h3>

Most people will not say so, partly because it feels like an admission and partly because they do not want to worry you. Look for the pattern rather than asking directly.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>