Little bits of tech

[TeenToTwenties]

Had a situation the other day where Dad couldn't find his keys, and coincidentally his toes were hurting and he could barely walk.
Keys found in his slippers .

So we are buying some extendable keyfob lanyards to help prevent this.

We also need to go round the house and label all the stopcocks etc before Dad forgets what is what.

In recent months we have also bought:

• mobile phones with emergency buttons that automatically dial us
• doorbell ringers that are really loud and can plug in all over the house
• timers for electric blankets to limit time they are on for
• second remote control for TV so Mum and Dad have one each and can't keep hiding it out of reach from the other

Dad has also installed tubing on toilet handles to make them easier to flush, and raised Mum's bed and armchair.
We are looking at a Tapo camera so they can show us things without attempting to zoom as that is probably too hard these days.

What other little bits of tech have you provided to help less mobile or forgetful parents?

Anything to stop electric hobs/cookers not being turned off?

The ovenguard is meant to be good for automatically turning the hob/oven etc off. It has a timer of 30 minutes but if you want to add longer you just press the red button. We're looking into getting one for my MIL. Ovenguard.co.uk

She also has an Alexa show and is able to work it well. We've set it up so she can 'drop in' on us by just saying 'alexa, drop in on DH'. That way she doesn't have to wait for it to ring etc. Because it's all voice controlled she finds it simple to use and likes that she can video call us. We wrote the command she needs to say to drop in on masking tape, and stuck it to the top of the alexa in case she forgets.

I bought my visually impaired mother a simple portable radio (look on Amazon for 'Relish') as she had given up using her old one as she found the controls too complicated

You can only have three different stations set up, (which you choose and can change at any time) and the fourth one allows you to put in a USB stick with favourite songs on. It was expensive but she finds it really easy to use and it;s allowed her to carry on listening to the radio, whcih is one of her remaining pleasures..

Also one of those 'dementia friendly' clocks that shows her date, day, time, and whether it is morning,afternoon, evening or night for her bedroom as she tends to lose track of time if she wakes in the night or sleeps in...

A key safe outside so property can be entered In an emergency if you can't get there. A care alarm you can have a bracelet or neck cord you just press it and will be put through to 24 hour help if you need it especially helpful if you can't get to the phone like a fall. They have contact numbers of family and if they can't be contacted they will call ambulance or police or what ever is needed. That's when the key safe comes in handy too.

For lost keys you can get coloured fobs that you put on the keys and a ‘hub’ that we put in the hall. When you lose your keys in the house, press the right coloured button on the hub and it will make the fob beep. It was on Amazon years ago.

Coded key safe is also a good idea.

My dad loved his tech. As a long term hearing aid user he switched (in his 80s) to aids that connected by Bluetooth to his iphone. He then had it set up to answer automatically after a certain number of seconds, so no struggling with arthritic hands to get phone out & press answer.

Then Siri for making calls so no need to use the touchscreen.

He also had Spotify on his phone also linked directly to aids for music, podcasts etc.

In later life he was severely visually impaired & had many speaking kitchen gadgets - scales, jug, meat thermometer. RNIB shop has all sorts of useful stuff. He also really liked his slow cooker as no worries about not seeing to judge when things were cooked. Also it meant he could prep dinner any time in the morning when he felt like it rather than feeling rushed in the afternoon when he might be tired.

Kindle fire great for books & Internet as it's large & the font goes really big.

Sounds silly but really large screen on desktop computer & then mouse pointer etc all set to maximum size.

He did have Alexa, but mostly used it for timers & calendar reminders.

You can also get alarm clocks with a vibrating pad that go under the pillow, they also can be set to respond to a smoke alarm going off

Sounds silly but really large screen on desktop computer & then mouse pointer etc all set to maximum size. Also tinker with the “repeat letter” setting so that elderly fingers resting too long don’t dddddoooooooo tttttthhhhhhiiiiissssss

Double cluck speed is another to look at