A help button, a mobile pendant, or a smartwatch?
Compare six medical-alert options by everyday fit, connection, ongoing costs, and the questions to answer before paying.
Read the guide: A help button, a mobile pendant, or a smartwatch? →What would help your family today?
Start with a concern, find a clear answer, and decide on one manageable next step.
New here? Start with a plan for living well at home →
Medical alerts
Explore medical alerts: guides, decisions and free tools →
Medical alert systems: questions to ask before you choose
Compare medical alert systems by daily use, coverage, response process, charging, privacy, and total cost. Take these questions to each provider.
Read the guide: Medical alert systems: questions to ask before you choose →LifeFone VIPx2: costs, caregiver access and returns
Review annual-plan calculations, optional caregiver access, charging and coverage checks, and cancellation questions.
Read the guide: LifeFone VIPx2: costs, caregiver access and returns →Home safety
Explore home safety: guides, decisions and free tools →
Bathroom support for an aging parent: decide before you buy
Talk through bathing and toileting difficulties, compare support options, and prepare questions about fit, installation, total cost and upkeep.
Read the guide: Bathroom support for an aging parent: decide before you buy →Smoke alarms for an older parent: hearing, testing and an escape plan
Check whether an aging parent can hear the alarm, plan an accessible escape route, and assign smoke-alarm testing without relying on a phone notification.
Read the guide: Smoke alarms for an older parent: hearing, testing and an escape plan →Carbon monoxide alarm going off: what families should do
Immediate steps when a CO alarm sounds, why symptoms and silence can mislead, and how to prepare an older parent’s home before an incident.
Read the guide: Carbon monoxide alarm going off: what families should do →Power outages and home medical devices: a family backup plan
Prepare a device-specific backup-power, contact and relocation plan for an aging parent who uses electrically powered medical equipment.
Read the guide: Power outages and home medical devices: a family backup plan →My parent keeps leaving the stove on: what should we do?
Address repeated stove incidents respectfully, arrange safer meal support, and assess timer or shutoff devices without assuming they solve the cause.
Read the guide: My parent keeps leaving the stove on: what should we do? →What to do if an older adult falls down stairs
When to call 911, why not to lift someone after a stair fall, head-injury warning signs, and what to tell emergency responders.
Read the guide: What to do if an older adult falls down stairs →After a parent falls: what to tell and ask their doctor
Prepare a useful fall history, medication list and appointment questions, then turn the clinician’s instructions into a practical family plan.
Read the guide: After a parent falls: what to tell and ask their doctor →Home fall-prevention checklist for an aging parent
Check stairs, nighttime routes, bathrooms and everyday storage, then assign practical fixes with your parent. Includes a free printable CDC checklist.
Read the guide: Home fall-prevention checklist for an aging parent →How to share care for an aging parent without losing track
Create a clear family care plan with your parent: named tasks, backups, missed-check-in arrangements, privacy and realistic limits.
Read the guide: How to share care for an aging parent without losing track →A clearer path from the bedroom to the bathroom.
Start with bathroom support and nighttime lighting, then compare six home-safety products by purpose, installation and ongoing upkeep.
Read the guide: A clearer path from the bedroom to the bathroom. →Choosing technology with your aging parent: start with one conversation
Choose a useful next step with your parent. Discuss their priorities, everyday routines, costs, privacy, and support before comparing technology.
Read the guide: Choosing technology with your aging parent: start with one conversation →Home safety: choose one everyday problem to solve first
Start a home-safety conversation with your parent’s everyday routines. Identify concerns, compare simple changes, and plan who will help.
Read the guide: Home safety: choose one everyday problem to solve first →Scam prevention
Explore scam prevention: guides, decisions and free tools →
My parent sent money to a scammer: what to do next
Contact the right payment provider, preserve useful evidence, avoid recovery scams and support your parent without blame.
Read the guide: My parent sent money to a scammer: what to do next →A fake virus warning or remote-access scam: helping your parent respond
Separate a frightening pop-up from real support, stop remote access, secure accounts and find trusted technical help after a scam.
Read the guide: A fake virus warning or remote-access scam: helping your parent respond →A caller sounds like your grandchild and needs money: how to check
A practical family verification plan for fake emergency calls, including AI-cloned voices, secrecy demands and a trusted callback routine.
Read the guide: A caller sounds like your grandchild and needs money: how to check →Helping a parent freeze their credit: a practical checklist
Understand credit freezes versus fraud alerts, use official bureau contacts, preserve account access and avoid confusing a free freeze with paid products.
Read the guide: Helping a parent freeze their credit: a practical checklist →Fewer unwanted calls. Keep the calls that matter.
Compare call-blocking apps, a familiar home phone, and broader security tools for an aging parent—with free options and setup checks first.
Read the guide: Fewer unwanted calls. Keep the calls that matter. →A family plan for suspicious calls, texts, and pop-ups
Make a simple family plan for suspicious messages: pause, verify independently, and ask for help. Includes a contact card and US recovery resources.
Read the guide: A family plan for suspicious calls, texts, and pop-ups →Staying connected
Explore staying connected: guides, decisions and free tools →
When you can't be your parent's tech support: make a backup plan together
Agree on realistic support, a willing backup and a next step when the usual helper is unavailable.
Read the guide: When you can't be your parent's tech support: make a backup plan together →My aging parent seems lonely: practical ways to help
Find out what kind of connection your parent wants, remove practical barriers and build a manageable routine without treating technology as a cure.
Read the guide: My aging parent seems lonely: practical ways to help →Help an older parent join a video call or telehealth visit
A repeatable setup, practice and troubleshooting checklist for family video calls and medical visits, including accessibility and a phone backup.
Read the guide: Help an older parent join a video call or telehealth visit →My parent cannot hear phone calls clearly: what can help?
Separate sudden hearing changes from everyday call difficulties, improve communication and prepare useful questions about hearing support and captions.
Read the guide: My parent cannot hear phone calls clearly: what can help? →Share family photos with an aging parent without oversharing
Choose an easy photo-sharing routine, check who can see or add pictures, and plan account access, removal and digital-frame setup with your parent.
Read the guide: Share family photos with an aging parent without oversharing →