Right before my mother wrapped up her two week vacation with us this summer, an amazing thing happened. She logged on to a computer for the very first time in her life, sent an email, received photos from me, and set up her calendar. She will be able to view all these from one screen – one portal when she returns to her retirement community.
I’m convinced the only way I finally got her online was due to a new one-stop portal offered by Famililink. Famililink’s CEO Laura Nuhann states that “Famililink is unique compared to other websites and software offerings that focus primarily on caregiving resources and support, whereas Famililink’s purpose is to improve the communication between the family and their aging loved ones while making it possible to engage the care recipient in the process”.
If this sounds like the answer to a long-distance caregiver’s prayer, it is. I spent quite a bit of time checking out the functionality and usability of the software before suggesting my mom try it out. Based on my mother’s reaction and success in using Familink, I am now ready to recommend it to my readers.
What are the key features that make this product a good choice for your elderly parent?
- First and foremost, the visual design, colors used and size of font are excellent. This immediately appealed to my mother.
- This is a one-stop portal for your elderly parents. Once Mom logged, her front page showed photos (that had come attached to received emails), her daily calendar and large colorful buttons for easy navigation to Mail, Pictures, Contacts and Calendar. My mom loved it that when I sent her an email with photos attached…those photos automatically appeared on her front page. Even I marveled, “how did they do that?”
- There is a prominent button on Mom’s front page, “Send Urgent Message”. I set myself up as her emergency contact. If she has an emergency, she clicks this button and a pre-formatted emergency email message appears. She clicks “Send” and I immediately get it.
- My mother was able to add a “helper”. We decided she’d add me so I can get on and help her add/maintain her calendar, photos, videos and answer her questions about usage (while we are 600 miles apart). In my opinion, this is a key feature at helping my mother over the initial learning curve and sticking with it.
Mom and I found this software easy to learn, easy to use and well-supported. A big part of getting your parent to use software (especially someone who has never touched a computer) is to walk them through it step by step. I was surprised my mother didn’t even know where the letters were on the keyboard. It was slow going but we sat together, and slowly, patiently… Mom sent and received her first email, viewed her photos and updated her calendar. I said, “Mom, you have now entered the digital age”. You should have seen the smile on her face.
Here’s the link: http://famililink.com/
(Tip: Create and print out a list of steps for your parent to follow as they use this software. Mine was quite basic as it started with “start the computer” and took her through routine daily use.
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I think this software is great and depending on the parent, would work if you get them started young enough. My dad got his first computer at age 80. I’ll never forget trying to teach him to use a mouse – it was hilarious! He was over-driving, like the first time I drove a car – running the car from one side of my lane to another, until I learned that small movements were enough. Same with my dad and his mouse.
My mom, on the other hand, is not open to new ideas or change. She has adamantly refused to have anything to do with a computer and barely understands how to use her TV remote control. When we bought her first microwave years ago, it took her weeks to try it and learn to use it. So it all depends on the senior and their capacity (and willingness) to learn new things.
This is very interesting. I’m going to check it out for my mom.
Your twitter friend @blancastella
Hi, It definitely looks intriguing. I’m going to show it to my senior mom. Not sure she’ll like it, but looks like it should prove to be a good resource for many! Thanks for the info