I tried for years to help my parents with computers/iPads/phones/Kindles etc. My mom died earlier this year and my dad has no interest. My in-laws have expressed an interest in the past few months so when I was at Costco and realized I could get a free iPhone for them if I upgraded mine (I know, I am so kind…lol) and since it was our 4th line and we have directv there would be no charge for them, we decided to do it.
Sent them their phone and my mil, who has never even had her own cell phone, was able to look at pix we sent, FaceTime with my husband and adjust the settings. My folks never got there even with me sitting next to them. I am so impressed with mil! We are going going to visit them in a few weeks and will help them get things like Netflix etc set up.
We are going to bring them an iPad as well. I am looking for apps and/or ideas for the 70+ crowd. I know my mil will love pinterest and fil will love all the sports/maps apps. Anyone have a parent new to iPads/phones? I am starting my list…I know mil will love ordering from the local deli in advance! Thanks for any ideas!
Yelp is a great app for FOOD! Glad your MIL figured out so much. My dad was pretty interested for awhile but now at 91, has mostly much less interested in his iPhone and pretty much all tech.
Thumper beat me to it - words with friends is a huge hit with my 85 year old Mom. About the only thing she does on her iPad is Words with friends and e-mail. She used to read books on it, but if she doesn’t keep doing it, she forgets how to get to the books and thinks they’ve disappeared for good. The only bad thing is trying to trouble shoot from afar.
show them the wonders of how an iphone (pad) is truly a wonderland of tools…teach them where the flashlight is, download a level, where the timer is, how to use the health app, something to help them keep track of important stuff to them–med lists, contact lists, symptom trackers, etc. i cant tell you how many times i’ve used my phone as a replacement tool and every time i do i’m both thrilled and amazed…and yes, i’m aware that some of the stuff may have some accuracy issues, but well, it works for a down and dirty assessment–if im concerned i can surely drag out the real level, but i really never do.
sounds basic, but when one is older its hard to imagine what technology can truly do. the usefulness of it can be a game changer.
@CT1417 , mentioned Facebook, but I’ll add a note to that. FB has allowed my Mom to find people that she had lost touch with as well as stalk her kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews. I have her log in so when she posts something that’s really weird, I get make it disappear.
Lol about keeping the devices charged - my mom insists on keeping her iPad plugged in at all times because she doesn’t want to wear out the battery. No amount of explaining has convinced her otherwise.
@thumper1 – my boys ‘fix’ my mother’s computer using Team Viewer. It allows them to log in remotely and operate her computer as if they were there with her. You may want to suggest that your H install that while he is with her. I believe the only issue is that the computer needs to be turned on so that the boys can work on it. The over-phone tech support has been painful to listen to and I give my boys great credit for helping her. I forget what the last issue was but they could not even activate Team Viewer.
No. DH has encouraged the parents to use the FREE tech support offered by the vendor where they bought the computer. No Way he is fixing this thing remotely because really…it needs fixing every two days or so.
I imagine he is uninstalling all the crap she just installs without thinking.
She has an IPad which really I wish she would use exclusively!
Can you use team viewer for remote support on an iPad? My sons do it on our desktop and laptops but I didn’t think they could get into the iPad. Their personal computers are not Apple devices. That would be good if they could! A lot of times with my Mom, it’s not really tech support as much as user guidance.
More on Facebook- you could get her account set up for her including a memorable password and start to make friend requests on her behalf. Then she can accept her own friends and start to see all the pics of relatives and old friends. And then teach her how to “like.”
Thanks for the suggestions. It is hard to help from so far away (we are in FL and they are in New England). We are going to visit for a week and hope to get them comfortable with their new devices. Before my mother’s dementia progressed, I was able to help over the phone only after she got an iPad. When she had a Windows computer and we had a Mac, it was impossible.
They are not near an Apple Store but I think I might go take a basic iPad workshop before we go visit. See what topics they cover and listen in on the questions of those new to iPads. Even if they just use them for fun, I’ll be happy.
