One cup kettles - recommendations? (Also other tips for frail elderly parents living alone.)

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Hello, hoping for recommendations from people with experience of trying to help elderly parents living alone and needing a lot of support to do simple things. My 92yo Mum lives alone 400 miles from me and has had a big downturn in health recently. I am staying with her now but the time is coming when I have to go home. She has carers coming in and they are great but when I am not here she will have to do a few things between visits which I am currently doing. I'm not sure she will manage the electric kettle safely now. Two of the carers have recommended getting a one-cup kettle which they could fill up with water and Mum could then press a button and draw off hot water into a mug. Any recommendations for something in that line which is super simple, safe and not too big?

Also, any other tips? We are looking at Wiltshire Farm Foods which delivers once a fortnight here. In the mean time I am going to freeze some ready meals but in half-portions as her appetite is tiny now. Thinking of the mini meals from WFF.

Thanks in advance!

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I definitely would recommend the hot water thing. Making tea is a pretty fundamental thing for a lot of people and maintains a modicum of control where possible. This is the one my MiL has, it’s large but easy to use. It would need to just sit on the side. You can put the kettle away to make space.

https://amzn.eu/d/9ATFmre

Thanks for the sock gadget recommendation, @Mischance .

I have one that's roughly similar but manages to be a complete PITA by being not quite the right type of plastic.

One of those things where someone copied a design but didn't bother trying it out.

If you have the time to pick through it, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g , there's a good thread here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4960548-calling-other-disabled-people-what-is-the-best-gadgets-etc-you-have-ever-bought?page=1

I've got the really simple breville one. Just press the button and it boils and fills your mug

Thanks very much again! Will look at that thread now, Perking.

A shop I've seen recommended on here is: https://www.activehands.com/shop .

It specialises in stuff to help people with hand problems, but a lot of it is more generally useful. It's run by someone who needs many of the products himself, so he's apparently really on the ball and helpful.

We got a bookshelf for my mums kitchen so tins etc could be stored where she could reach them without having to get down to low cupboards.

My dm found a thermos cup really handy so morning carer could make her morning coffee and leave it for her.

A small tin kept replenished by carers with biscuits by her chair was a big hit.

Another vote for the quality of Cook foods - if you can get them, delivery to an island may not.be possible. They are proper home coooking. And have 'lunch' options that are ideal.for smaller appetites.

Parsley box isn't as appealing to.look at, but cheaper and designed for ambient storage. Which means fewer problems.getting them.delivered to remote places, and makes them.quite quick to.heat.

www.manageathome.co.uk/pd/uccello-kettle_12111?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADtSvb0PS5BnnWcGRQR-uv1EZjxqo&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl9vFmPLSiwMVgpBQBh2C-DJrEAQYAiABEgIkAvD_BwE

Wow your Mum sounds amazing!

I only have two recommendations, so apologies in advance OP.

The first would be a mini oven, it’s probably the best kitchen purchase I ever made. It fits easily on the work top. There’s no difficult bending down, and struggling to get food in and out of the oven. Also more economical on electricity, you set the timer and the temperature so for instance if someone fell to sleep or forgot there’s food cooking, no danger of burnt food and a fire hazard.

Secondly, would be a snack box, my lovely mum didn’t really eat a full meal, so I’d do her a snack box. A little sandwich, couple of biscuits, fruit chopped up with some yogurt. All her favourites (from a medical point of view It’s always better for elderly people to give them little snacks rather than a big meal).

Id do an evening snack box as well, the amount of elderly people who wake up in the night hungry is a real thing. If they have a snack it helps them get back to sleep.

She’s my MIL, she really is. A little determined sparrow. Fortunately still with all of her faculties, for which she is very grateful. She’s great on WhatsApp as well, we are in groups with her and send pictures, and she can sometimes send them back too. Got her onto it all just in time before it all was too difficult to pick up. Though she needs to use the same increasingly ancient phone…

Thats another thing. Different cooking devices might be easier but often it’s hard to switch to something unfamiliar.

If they have cats you can get a cat feeding bowl and water bowl with a long handle to save bending.

Try and encourage her to drink as my mum was the same and was prone to UTIs which is common with elderly women

we got our gran a breville hot water dispenser.
shaky hands made handling a kettle dangerous.

I know it's difficult, but you really need to encourage her to drink more, as dehydration is a big risk for all, especially the elderly. And caffeinated tea and coffee is actually a diuretic - I've recently been told by a doctor that I should try to drink at least 2 litres of water / squash a day, plus an additional glass for every cup of tea or coffee that I have.

On your original topic - my mother has 'meals on wheels' delivered daily; I did look into the frozen food companies that deliver, but her eyesight and fraility is too bad now for her to safely manage the oven and so she is restricted to only the most simple use of the microwave. I do recommend splitting loaves into small packs of two to four slices that can be frozen and quickly defrosted (or even put straight in the toaster).