Caring for aging parents is one of those things in life that we all know is coming, but we dread it all the same. After all, it can be stressful to watch your parents lose abilities that once came so naturally to them. As frustrating as it is for you, the caretaker, it can also become frustrating for parents. They may feel that they are losing freedom that they once had. They may also feel like a burden to their children who are now grown with families of their own. The good thing is that we live in an extremely tech savvy world now. Even better is that your parents don’t have to be tech savvy as you to take full advantage of the technologies that are out there to help care for them. Here are three new types of technology that can help you know your parents are fine while giving them the freedom that they have always had.
Technology For Keeping An Eye On Them
Lively is an activity tracking system, but it’s fairly is non-invasive. You attach Lively ports to things that your parents use every day, such as a closet door, keys, a medicine cabinet, and other items around the house. Then you sync the ports to your computer, tablet or smartphone. If something seems out of the ordinary, Lively will send you notifications so you can check in to make certain everything is as it should be. Lively uses a cellular network, so no WiFi is required.
Dropcam and Piper offer a fairly similar system in that you can keep an eye on your parents when you are away. The difference is that these companies don’t just use ports. Instead, they utilize cameras through the home. You can use them to check in as well as to communicate. Fortunately, the feature a fairly elegant design to help blend in with the home as a whole.
Smartsoles are GPS insoles that slide into any pair of shoes. It can then be accessed by a Web app from the computer or a smartphone. Smartsoles will then track your parents wherever they go. These are especially useful if you have parents who tend to get lost easily, are becoming more forgetful, or have Alzheimer’s. If your parent gets lost or frightened, you will be able to easily figure out where they are, go pick them up and take them back home where they will feel safe again.
Technology For Communicating With Them
One way to keep in touch on a regular basis is a smartphone. Smartphones allow you to call your parents and even to talk with them face to face using a number of different apps like Facetime and Skype if you live a great distance away.
For some aging parents, though, the smartphone might be a little intimidating. For these parents who are resistant to smartphones, there is the Jitterbug Plus from Samsung. This phone has simple, user friendly buttons and very basic commands. Plus, if they forget to charge the Jitterbug Plus it will last for 25 days on standby. This phone will place you, healthcare professionals and emergency personnel at the touch of your aging parents’ fingers.
Technology For Keeping the House Clean
As your parents age, they will being to find it harder to do physical things that once seemed so easy. Vacuuming is one of these physical activities that often gets overlooked. Vacuuming is one important thing that needs to be done, but they might feel it is too invasive to have someone come into their home to clean. The Moneual Rydis H68 Hybrid Robotic Vacuum is the perfect answer. This vacuum cleans both carpets and hard floors by itself. It self-programs the best path for each room, thus coming up with a cleaning pattern. Then, when the battery is running low it will dock itself to recharge.
With the use of these technologies a burden is lifted off of you as your parents’ caretaker. At the same time, a burden is lifted off of them. You can make sure that your parents are doing fine without being overbearing, and your parents can live their lives without losing so many freedoms or feeling like they have to burden you all the time with you checking in.
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