Things I wish were invented...

When my daughter was a toddler I used to wish for an extra arm that would fall off when they turned 15... now I want one for mom to hang onto until we don't need it anymore...

T.V. dinners were on sale last night.
Marie Callenders, my favorite.
Yes, lots of salt, but portion conrrol.

Just put them in the microwave.

I think maybe that's where I got that idea from Willie, plus I don't like to cook. LOL

Gershun - that would be the food replicator from star trek. I've always wanted the transporter so I could commute without fighting traffic.🖖

I wish we could press a button on our microwave, open the door and a fully cooked, healthy delicious meal would present itself. Yes, I'm dreaming but it could happen one day right?................Right?.......................yeah, I know.

Jairmo, I bought mom a bidet within a couple of months of taking over. I love it & 3 people who have used it at mom’s bought one. I always recommend it to friends with elderly parents.

Toilet paper is one thing but IMO a portable bidet is much better for a senior's privacy if they can't do it themselves...and it exists. I recommend it once you get used to the quirks.
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xportable+bidet.TRS0&_nkw=portable+bidet&_sacat=0

I wish I could flip a switch to activate a “force field” around me - that prevents people from invading my personal space. Primarily when I’m shopping or in other public venues. It would also put the kibosh on “close talkers.”

CoyoteBR, that’s my sisters weekly convo & she’s not a senior yet!

Great discussion, thanks a lot.

I would be happy with The Really Smart TV - each time there's a segment about a new diet, or the food last month was a death sentence now being benefitial airs, it changes to a 10-minute kitten video.

It would probablly stop my mother changing her dietary habits according what she watches.
"I saw this documentary about people eating just fruits, I will do that."
"Mom, you're diabetic."
"But fruits are healthy, I saw on TV."
"Mom, fruits are pure sugar. You can eat a few per day, but..."
"No, there are people who..."

Countrymouse, a brain alarm, perfect. JuliaRose, I NEED that echo silver-for me too at this point! Inventorgrissom, I’ve always been a brainstormer, or as my family would say I “always looked for a shortcut”. Unfortunetly that included practical education so lots of wishful thinking not a lot of able to get it done ability. I pass on my ideas to people who can, but don’t. My best one was in 2001-2002 I figured it should be easy to install an alarm to a car seat, or low tech, just a cord attached to your keys. Apps weren’t too popular yet. Had 2 engineer friends say car company’s wouldn’t allow something to interface with after market product. People wouldn’t like it. They exist now.

An alarm embedded in your loved one's brain that warns you *before* she gets up and sets off on her fall-risk travels.

CWillie, no good for kids! And addictive for self! The off switch (with timer) is the answer we need!

Good drugs Margaret. Wasn't that why "mother's little helper" was so popular?

No no no, not white noise, instant unconscious sleep. For yourself, when your head is going round and round with worry, for the overtired screaming child, for a person in too much pain to sleep, for the person you care for if you get to the very end of your ability to cope. The Off Switch we all need. Bring it on!

MargaretMcKen

NOISY ENVIRONMENT OFF SWITCH (assuming that's what you meant) would be a white noise generator. Downtown Columbus, OH Lazarus started using them in the early 60's in their 40 foot wide no doors or windows street level entrance. It was amazing! Outside noise was almost unbearable but walk through their invisible white noise wall and everything outside went completely silent. Google "white noise generator" and see sites like this: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/whiteNoiseGenerator.php

Inventors' Digest Magazine thinks toilet paper might be the most indispensable invention ever. https://www.inventorsdigest.com/articles/useful-invention-toilet-paper/?fbclid=IwAR3_ii-NW7SJRxjVSx2C2JSpJZMuEj6ELMuX1zCAQ-YXlTVaYymMq1wR-2s

Saturday Night Live had a funny skit about a fictional Amazon Alexa for seniors called the Echo Silver. It has an “uh huh” feature for long rambling stories, it scans for items (“the phone is in your right hand”), and it repeats answers and reminds the senior of their original question. If the temperature is already 80 degrees, it will point this out and not turn the thermostat on even if the senior asks it to.

I wish it existed! 

https://www.cnet.com/news/snl-saturday-night-live-parody-ad-amazon-echo-for-old-people-senior-citizens/

Momshelp, I think you missed your 'calling' to be a professional brainstormer.

REVERSE BLANKET: 18 years ago, I invented a reverse microwave function to quickly cool or freeze food in the same microwave oven. Google "cooling blanket" and you'll find that you could have been a millionaire! Example: https://gravityblankets.com/products/gravity-cooling-blanket I know how to make one that'll give you frost bite. :)

AIR BED: In 2011 I spent 7 months in Oregon finishing a prototype. I bought an air bed, something I never thought I would sleep on. It turned out to be the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on (adjustable firmness), waterproof, VERY light weight, and thus very easy sheet changing. I bought a raised air mattress so I wouldn't need a frame - this one: www.amazon.com/Intex-Supreme-Raised-Mattress-Built

THE CLOCK: I don't think you mentioned if your mother is capable of getting herself out of bed and into a walker or wheel chair. Or, if she's even capable of sitting up in bed on her own. It might make a difference on how to solve the clock problem.

I’m surprised that no-one has posted the best of all inventions – the off switch with timer. Multi-uses – children, yourself when your head is going round and round, and possibly the LO. If only!

I have actually seen a cooling under blanket, demonstrated at a field day fair some years ago. It heated or cooled, and used an air conditioner device to cool the wires (or water pipes, I can’t remember). It was designed for women with night sweats due to the menopause (in fact men with prostate cancer hormone medication can have a similar problem). It was really expensive, and I suspect never made it into mass production. I was past the night sweats problem when I saw it, otherwise I would have been genuinely tempted.

InventorGrissom, thank you so many solutions!
JuliaRose, a crank at the top of the bed sounds great for positioning.
Sendhelp, yes just dreaming but really I hadn’t considered moral or ethical implications. I guess I was focused on necessity being the mother of invention.
How about a cooling blanket for the summer? The reverse of an electric blanket in winter?

JuliaRose, thanks for the links. Interesting looking devices.

Methink I will write to the mattress companies and ask them to make the box spring thicker and the mattress thinner. My gosh, if my Mom was still alive today, she would be quite frustrated as she liked tight corners on her bedding.

Freqflier,
I ran across these handy things that actually lift the corner if the mattress to assist with changing the sheets!

https://www.agingcare.com/products/magic-mattress-lift-204734.htm

Momshelp,
What a great thread!
Will be thinking about this....but for now here's this:

I have been controlling Tweety bird's bedtime by changing the lighting, curtains and shades, and music. He gets in bed by himself when conditions are right.

If you can put the clock in a more remote place so Mom cannot view it from her bed, that may help. If she asks what time it is.....tell her anything you need to.
Such as, "I think it is very late...I'll go find out...in the meantime, here is your bedtime cookie." (or meds?). Maybe when you come back, she will be asleep,
you may be wishing.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind the elder's rights and dignity. There are moral and ethical obligations when attempting to control another human being's concept of
1) Time 2) Food and drink 3) Sleep/wake by meds, etc. unless it is entirely for their own benefit.

But we can dream and fantasize, right?

(not really an invention, but an intervention).

JuliaRose, have you tried slide sheets?
AgingCare has a link to some:
https://www.agingcare.com/products/smart-sheet-440839.htm
but there are many other styles available.

InventorGrissom, great information. Thank you :)

I wish there was a way for me to reposition my LO higher on the bed without needing an assistant. Why isn’t there a crank at the top of the bed with two arms that unwind and attach to a slip sheet that can be hand cranked so that it pulls the sheet (and person) up? That would make life with someone who cannot assist so much more convenient!

Ice cream that is fabulously delicious and in no way impacts your weight or your health.

Momshelp,

FOR TV SOUND, if she doesn't care for wireless earphones or ear buds, you can always use wireless directional speakers. She can listen loud and you wont be able to hear it unless your sitting next to her. Watch speaker demo on this page: https://ultrasonic-audio.com/products/acouspade-directional-speaker/

FOR TV REMOTE CONTROL through interior walls, you must use either Bluetooth or WIFI from a device designed for this. Example: https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-Elite-Remote-Control/dp/B014PDFP9S?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAINYWQL7SPW7D7JCA&tag=aboutcom02lifewire-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B014PDFP9S&ascsubtag=4138565%7Cgoogle.com%7C%7C%7C36%2C70%2C10%2C74%2C37%2C29%2C77%2C46%7C1%7C

CURRENT REMOTE CONTROLS use (IR) Infra-Red (light) that, like a flashlight, can NOT penetrate walls. However, you can use small make-up mirrors to redirect YOUR duplicate remote control infra-red 'light' (for her TV) down a hallway from mirror to mirror (2~3 mirror max) until the last mirror shines into her TV room. To test her TV Infra-Red light sensitivity, point her remote (with fresh batteries) to any wall or spot on the ceiling in her TV room as if it were a diffusing mirror and it should still control her TV just fine... unless the tiny red dot sensor lens on the front of her TV is dirty. Think of it like a bright flashlight that emits invisible light.

FOR A CLOCK. I'm not sure how long that might fool her. I'm a chronic workaholic night-owl so, I use a Melatonin sleep aid supplement and the 'sounds to sleep by' channel on cable TV (whatever she thinks might work). There are even devices and apps dedicated to sleep sounds and emission of specific light frequencies that induce sleep and THEN emit wake up frequency light when appropriate.

I wish there was an invention where it would make it easier to lift the mattress when putting on new sheets. I like to tuck in the top sheet and blanket. These new mattresses are extra thick which means they are quite heavy. I guess I could bring in the car jack :P

Makes me wish I had kept my old mattress.