Dad cannot operate TV remote control by himself. Any advice?

I did everything possible to find the simplest remote for my dad but nothing really worked. I'd love to hear if anyone has a solution.

As far as a "good home" goes - dad received excellent care but there couldn't be an aide there every minute. He could use his call button but he wouldn't do that to change his TV channel - he wanted to do that himself. They always adjusted things for him when they came in which was often, but he still wanted that control. Unfortunately, I never found a very good solution.

Keep us posted, please!
Carol

My dad moved to my city and therefore a new cable company with a remote that had tons of buttons and they were even small by my standards. We had many phone calls over this. Finally with enough repetition he got it where he can use it now. You've at least gotten a remote that's simple. Now here's an idea. Lay the remote on a copier machine and make a copy of it. After the copy is printed take a marker and label the main buttons for him. Next place it in clear folder or laminate it so it doesn't get crumpled, dirty etc. have it near where he watches the TV in plain sight. When he calls you, have a copy of his remote by your phone so you can help him. I made my dad go through the steps several times in a row with me to help it become more permanent in his memory. Hope that helps.

I have this problem with my mother who has advanced macular degeneration and can no longer operate a TV remote. What solved the problem was getting Dish satellite TV service. Dish has a function that allows you to pre-program TV shows by frequency (once, M-F, weekly, etc.) and the best part is that I'm able to setup that the shows change channels automatically at the time the particular program starts. Pretty neat. So, for example, if the news is on at say 9am and I've programmed a movie for her that starts on TCM at 10am, at 9:59am, the TV will automatically change to TCM and the movie starts a minute later on its own.

Its been a great timesaver for me and she's happy. The only thing is setting up the pre-programming in advance, but she has lots of favorites like game shows and old TV westerns she likes to watch so I just pre-program those to automatically play M-F and its al set from that point.

My cousin had a difficult time with her remote, but I found a GREAT, BASIC, SIMPLE, remote that does the job. I found it on amazon. I'm not sure if we are allowed to post links or brand names here, but PM me if you want it.

The remote I got her only has On/Off, Mute, Vol up/down, channel up/down. The letters are large and it's a life send. She is so happy she can operate it.

The handyman at the AL helped me program it. It took a little while, but with not too much trouble. He told me that every resident there needed one like it. It's the best $19.99 I have ever spent.

The above mentioned device is not compatible with cable boxes or satellite tv. Looks good, with just on /of and volume and channels up and down one at a time. Good if you only have a few channels .
We have friends who made a cardboard device to fit over the many unnecessary buttons to cut down on confusion. The whole thing is taped over the existing remote.

Remember when the TV had one button to turn it on and off and a dial to turn the channel? You had to actually stand up back then. Those were the days...

I bought the easiest remote the had from WalMart, one with large numbers. I put red finger nail polish on the power button, the channel selector, and volume button. I told my mother only press those buttons, nothing else. Seems to work okay for now.

I've looked into some of these other simplified remotes, but I could not get them to program. However, I did find a new creation called Button Blocker.

It's a removable remote control, that covers the useless buttons on the remote, simplifying it by exposing only the most basic and frequent buttons (power, volume, guide). It's interesting in that it does not need to be programmed, and it fits right on the cable remote control. And it's hard to lose if it's the glow in the dark model. Worth taking a look into.

As I read this I am chuckling. This must be a very common problem. Another problem is my aunt turns the tv off during commercials, "to save electricity". We have lost movies this way, and have learned to take the remote with us on a bathroom trip. AND we have a puppy who loves to chew anything we touch. Working on our 4th remote!

Sunnygirl, it sounds like the same remote that I bought for my mother. It's wonderful. The only problem we ever have with it is she often turns it off without pointing the right way. This makes the TV go off, but not the cable box, so they are out of sync. I have to get them back in sync quite often. I wish she would remember to point the remote at the system, but she forgets to do that.

I love the day of cable-ready TV when we didn't have to worry about these digital boxes. Getting HR is not worth the trouble it causes with old folks and remotes.