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My parents are getting older and living independently. I want to make sure they’re safe and well without constantly checking in and overwhelming them. Would also love to be in touch with the caregiver who visits them every week.


Are there any digital tools or apps you use to remotely monitor your aging parents’ health and well-being? Looking for something that’s easy and not invasive.


Thanks in advance!

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My father is no longer capable of doing any of this. I’m currently on my dad visit for a week in NYC. My husband did not come with me. I did a FaceTime so my dad could see and hear him. Not much conversation though. But he did manage to say hello. Will do it again tomorrow. It fills in the time. Technology can be useful.
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Reply to Hothouseflower
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Look into JubileeTV! My mom has no idea how to use the remote for her tv or do FaceTime. We can now check on her, video conference with her straight from the tv without her doing anything and we can control her YouTube channels remotely and get her back to the videos she likes to watch everyday. She’s home by herself and now family from far away can drop in and say hi to interact with her throughout the day.
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Reply to MN2025
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In terms of checking in with a caregiver, I would create a form they can fill out - a daily tracking.

Include:

Dietary
Hygiene / toileting needs (if an issue)
Mood and changes
Medications
Sleep patterns (if needed)
- up during night

Changes in behavior
Any specific area that needs monitoring

A responsible caregiver will keep in touch with you.
You will need to tell them what you want before you hire them.
Depending on the person and their experience and abilities, you need to screen to be sure you hire someone who will communicate with you as you need/want.

A form like this could be useful in MD appointments to track changes.

Gena / Touch Matters
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Reply to TouchMatters
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Check into a Grandpad from Consumer Cellular, it's reasonably priced and you control everything. It has lots of news, music and games on it as well.
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Reply to Animalpal
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CelsoBenidio: Perhaps you can install cameras.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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Soo da line you’re after an indoor security camera ( if they’re in agreement to being monitored)
or a friend in work bought a monitoring camera for her cat
pit it to where cat slept n downloaded it onto her phone to ensure her little boy was ok watching him during the day
limited to the area she put the camera

Failing that a video phone to call and check

or care places could tell you about emergency personal alarms tgat provide various levels of monitoring
Good luck in finding the most suitable to your requirements
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Reply to Jenny10
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I use Eufy pan and tilt 220 for my mom. It also has tracking of movement and the camera follows the movement/sound. Hint: don’t put in the tv room and on tracking….it will “watch TV”. ;) If you don’t use the tracking, you can still move the camera from your phone. It was easy to set up and connect to wifi.
I have a camera under a bookcase in the bathroom so if mom falls, I will know. I don’t have the sound on in the bathroom but I set a notification noise that is unique for the bathroom. One time she did end up on the floor and I saw her sitting there. I turned off the LED recording light because the devices disappear after a while but that light will be distracting. I also turned off the infrared for night vision because she has night lights that give enough light to see her. It is a free app. It is on Amazon and you can store it on the memory chip that you purchase separately. Total in was 50.00. It is piece of mind for me and it is LIVE all the time only recording movement or sound (or both).
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Reply to Tandemfun4us
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I use an Echo dot with Alexa for some communication. From my phone I can set up routines and reminders for my dad out of state. It will also make announcements so I can ask him to call me etc. Normally I use it to remind him of appointments and to take meds or drink water. He can ask it to call me without having a phone handy for instance if he fell or had some trouble in the bathroom.
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Reply to Tcammm
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I have looked into cameras for my parents but so far all place the video/photos on the web and I do NOT want that for sure! If anyone knows of cameras that do not require WiFi and store on the cloud would love to k kw about it too.
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Reply to ConcernedDtr59
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mikeindc Mar 30, 2025
Storing on the “cloud” is on the web. There are cameras that require hard wire to the internet but they are still connected to internet so can be hacked. Anything can be hacked. Best you can do is ensure you have a good password and keep firmware up to date. Buy name brand, more likely to fix problems with firmware.
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My kids have me on an app that tracks my phone. I got a call at 7:30 am from my son at my doctors office when he saw that I was in the hospital to see if I needed help. They also tracked my husband when he got lost while driving. Ours is on Life360. There are others but this one is free and I love them knowing in case I need help.
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Reply to Pencarl
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Have you thought about placing some security cameras around your parents home, so you can check in on them through your phone when you feel the need to? To me that would be the simplest solution.
And as far as keeping in touch with the caregiver, can you not just text them or give them a quick call to see how things went? Or have them text or call you right after they visit.
It's not all that complicated to stay in touch with folks these days and it sounds like you're trying to make it harder than it has to be.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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