Looking for video cameras to see how my dad is doing when I can't reach him by phone. Has anyone done this?

I used a ring via battery - I just placed it in the living room. I could see the living room, his chair, tv, and the entrance to the bedroom. Not the bathroom but I could check on it through the app. There are now better ones like the ones you place in the light socket that has two way audio: Shop 360 Security Camera Bulb - Amazon.com Official Site

Yes need to have wifi for ring and you can see it on your phone. Battery lasted for about two days. It is motion activated so only turns on when movement activates it.

My parents have an Alexa that plays music by voice command. I just got my mom an echo which is a small iPad type thing so I can call her or she can ask Alexa to call me and we can see each other. That way I can make sure she’s ok

When I had to hire aids in the home, the first CNAs very strongly encouraged me to get cameras. Among other things, they said the cameras protected both the person receiving care and the aids in cases of he said-she said. I resisted at first, but they were right.

I used cameras and door open/close detectors from Wyze. I found them to be inexpensive, good quality and easy to set up and maintain. You will need Wi-Fi. I put them in the main areas (making sure not pointing to bathrooms in case people didn’t shut the door all the way!). I did not hide them.

The door open/close detectors helped me know when someone was going in or out, so I knew I people were coming when they said and staying with Mom (who at the time needed eyeballs on her 24/7) not outside without her for hours, which happened. If your dad has valuables in the home though, he needs to get them out or lock them up. Most of our theft was food when one aid kept stealing the other aids’ food, but things like jewelry or meds need to be in a lockbox because the cameras might show you who did it, but they can’t get the stuff back.

https://www.wyze.com/

Every state (or country) has different laws about cameras, but in Kansas we did not have an issue. Here there’s even a state law permitting cameras in assisted living or nursing care as long as certain guidelines are followed. I’d say the vast majority of the aids and hospice staff were unbothered and just got on with their work.

What does your Dad think?

If you or he don’t like the security cameras, you might consider an Amazon Echo or a Facebook Portal. I’ve read on the forum that at least one of those make a device you can set to auto-answer so you can voice or video chat. I don’t have first-hand knowledge.

When you can't reach him by phone, why isn't he able to answer? Does he have a hearing problem? Or does he misplace it or forget to put it in his pocket? Forget to charge it? I'm assuming he has something other than a landline.

I used the Blink cameras when my late husband was bedridden in our living room to check on him when I had to run out to get something.
They worked great as I could just pull them up on my phone and check on him. Mine are the older ones that only had one way voice, but they now make them with 2 way voice so you can talk to him and he can talk to you as well.
They are fairly inexpensive, and you can order them online.

If you aren’t comfortable with what you see on the camera, what will you do? Who will take care of it if you’re 4 hours away?

Look at reviews on Amazon. They have a variety of cameras.

Personally I see that as an invasion of his privacy and basic dignity. He has someone 3 x a week. They can update you. Are you sure it’s not the carer you want to spy on

We used Blink cameras to watch my mother with dementia when she lived at home 2 hours away by car. We put the cameras in the kitchen and family room and they helped us a lot as we had a long process to get her into a memory care home.

I also used a Blink camera to watch my Dad. I was happy with it.

We used Amcrest cameras to look in and check when we need confirmation that everything is ok. The cameras are inexpensive and you get a free app in your phone so you can check in. You need Wi-Fi and a smart phone

We did that to protect my mom.
One blink camera in her living room, one covering the floor towards her bedroom and master bathroom without invading her privacy.
She was grateful for the technology because it made her feel safe and connected to the world. She knew that if she would fall we’d knew and would rush to help her/check on her of course.

She had a wonderful caregiver, but only for 5 hours a day and 4 days a week. The cams were set up with privacy areas as well (you can do that in the motion detector settings) and for us 3 it was a great tool to help my old mom.

Yes, Zmodo is what we use and it has been a God send. You can record, speak to them and it send an alert with movement, animals and light will trip them as well. I have an app on my phone, so I can check in on Mother at any time.
they really give peace of mind when you are far away( 6.5-7 hours away)
we also use a baby monitor as her caregiver is in the apartment downstairs.

falls, telemarketers or is she eating, and lately she waits for her caregiver to leave gets dressed and goes for a walk. I am all for the exercise but we worry the day will come she will get lost. Mother is in denial, cannot reason with her at all, refuses to tell anyone where or when she leaves. This is only one of the struggles we are dealing with but the cameras have helped to keep her safe and certainly gives me comfort that I am doing all I can . Pills, bills, meals and wheels. Allowing them to age in place as long as possible safely. Good luck

Good Morning,

I have a camera faced towards the door. Should my mother leave, which so far, so good, Mom hasn't wandered, when the door opens a text goes off and I can see any activity on my phone.

I don't leave mother that often but I expect the best but plan for the worst.

Your internet/phone carrier can install this. I pay about $20 per month plus the initial cost of the camera.

For me, it is piece of mind. If I go to the pool on the premises and I hear a bing on my phone, I check it. One time maintenance came to fix something, the bing went off and I phoned mother. She felt secure.

It's a small investment but necessary.

Also, mother has a button (necklace) that she can push, not necessarily just for an ambulance but the speaker in the dwelling will come on and say to do you need help, mother can say please call my daughter on her cell.

Mother has Lewy Body Dementia and everyday is different. But, I have to have these things in place, for example, locked pill boxes, just in case.

You need to protect your loved one's. There's all kinds of stuff out there these days. Probably other people on the forum have some good advice too.

Also if your dad has a reliable neighbor, I would kiss up and ask for their assistance. Now and then a grocery card, Christmas gift, you get it. Someone right next door. The Church people are good at this.

One of my friends had her dad go to a day respite and loves it. He is picked up in the morning and he calls it the Club. He fell at home and couldn't be left alone.

You need someone next door that can check in and do a wellness check on a daily basis.

I had 3 cameras in mom’s AL 1 bedroom apartment. 1 on the bed, 1 at the table and 1 (not in the bathroom) but towards the bathroom door. They were the best because I got to see her routine since she had no memory of it. I also got to see when she was having and confusing time (UTI alert). I could let the caregiver know what they were coming into and they appreciated it since mom couldn’t tell them accurately. For phone: I got her a stand charger and zip tied her phone to the charger-she has a apple iphone and in the settings you can have it answer automatically after a few seconds-you set the time. I also set a duck call ring tone and had it announce the callers. Mom never missed a call after that. I got her Mint Mobile (15 bucks a month) and cleaned her contact list as well as setting it to only ring when the person was in her contact list (cuts out the spam calls and wrong numbers). I did get her a Alexa show and use it to drop in and talk to her. She was able to use it to drop into me at one time, but she doesn’t know how now. The blink camera helped me in that if the blink was alerting me, I would peek in and see mom sitting at the alexa saying my name. I would call immediately. I told mom the blink cameras were speakers and she was fine with it. She would have paranoia moments so I put a little sign that reminded her they were speakers and she would leave them alone. As far as privacy! That is a valid concern but we are talking about safety for a person who is unable to articulate, remember and be consistently safe. The camera was only used by me. Example: my mom (when she was on the floor) , the camera proved to be invaluable! I got to see how she got to the floor and that she didn’t hit her head so no trip to the ER per the AL rules. Now mom is in MC and I am not happy that cameras are not allowed in the room. They only check mom every 2 hours and have stated that privacy is the reason. These residents are like children and they get adult privacy! It is more like “No evidence” of what really happens. It is a good place but they suffer from staffing issues. I am fortunate that I have 7 day care 4 hours a day for mom so she can have a routine that works for her. She sleeps a lot and without the caregivers, she would be forced to sit in a common area so the staff can watch her. I offered the facility access to the camera so they could see that mom’s safety not privacy was the reason for the cameras and was denied. Bottom line: cameras give peace of mind and auto answer on phone and alexa are all great to support a parent who wants independence.

The only places that you can not place a camera would be in a location where a person would expect privacy. So bedroom, bathroom are out.
In some states you need both persons consent to record audio. Check your State.
If this is not going to record there is no problem.
There are some where you can have 2 way communication.
There are now many options for cameras.
And I found out that if there is "Alexa" you can "drop in" and monitor. It is a 2 way intercom so you could communicate with the other person.

Very helpful backup plan!
We’re 20m away and have cameras for safety monitoring through her home security system (Vivant - but there are others). She had the system already since Dad passed and she was living alone. We added cameras as dementia progressed. System alerts to doors open / closed, and activity at door bell (like ring) as well as through stand alone plug in cameras. We place in strategic locations - very wide angle lenses - Living room, stairwell, kitchen and den. We get notifications based on what is needed for safety monitoring - to back up 24/7 personal care / companion and can view convos as needed. Comes in handy for her safety, my peace of mind and is helpful to know :
- when she was left alone on the stoop, (can save specific clips as needed)
- if she brought the newspaper / mail in the house
- when we had a brief gap at switch time between weekday and weekend caregiver
- when she has visitors to prompt convo later
- when she said aid was being mean and wasn’t
- when she doesn’t hear the door bell (I call her to answer)
- when she left the phone off the hook - (can speak remotely through camera speaker)
Helps keep an eye on entering and exiting. Also have new hearing aids with geolocation so they can be found via iPhone app when misplaced.
We also use Life 360 (free phone app) for family geolocation by cell phone and have tiles for keeping track of items. Yes, my phone bleeps - but its all adjustable to meet family needs.

My mom purchased a netgear system at one point but never set it up! She asked us to do this to see if someone was breaking into her home.

Initially one was set up on her entryway, and another in upstairs hallway so that her privacy would not be compromised. We did see her, and authorized people entering, so we knew it was working.

Later we relocated the one camera in the living room, so we could see the front door. That's when we actually saw her fall when getting up from the sofa and difficulty getting up, which she completely denied ever happened. She had fallen other times previously and had broken bones or had facial bruising, but there was always a rational explanation from her.

Now she's in a community system that prohibits the use of cameras explicitly in their contract. Sometimes we wish we could view what's been happening because we can only learn what they say, and possibly not the entire story of what happens in the day to day in her room.

There are also devices one can install (not cameras, but motion) that check: has the toilet been flushed, the fridge door opened, and/or the kitchen sink water turned on. These three things, typically one does at least once in the morning and likely again later. Can be a simple -- non invasive/non camera -- way for "proof of life." Then if none of these motion detectors are tripped by a certain time in the day, turn on the camera w/two way voice to ask/check....

Ooops, this was a double post. I tried to delete it but could only edit it.

Yes, I used a company called alarm.com. They are primarily an alarm company but their system has a "wellness" set up they can install.

It was wonderful. Not only cameras, but also sensors. So I would get an alert on my phone when the front door opened, or when someone went through the kitchen, etc. It logged all these events so you could review them. Also you could set up camera events to record when things happened. For example, I had a camera that showed the living room and front door. If the front door opened, not only did I get an alert, but it also recorded 30 seconds of video. The videos were kept for about 2 weeks in the system. So you could go back and review who was coming/going out the front door. It also had an alert, so in addition to the thing she wore around her neck, I could also initiate an alert from my phone that would call the ambulance. I used it a couple of times. Once when she fell, I got a phone alert, checked the video, saw she was down and initiated an ambulance call to her place directly from my phone.

Since I live about a thousand miles away and my Mom didn't have full time round the clock caregivers, it was a terrific system. I used it for about 2 years until my Mom finally got worse and I had to put her in a nursing home.

The system we had was $50/month, so not the cheapest thing. But well worth it and many more features and options than a ring or something similar.

Mom is in AL & we use Blink to check on her bc she's prone to frequent falls. We have 1 in her living/kitchen & 1 in her bedroom. It's been a source of cfort for our family. Hope this helps

Both my mom and aunt have monitoring cameras. It was a huge help keeping an eye on activities even when their caregivers were on duty. Often mom would turn off her phone to nap and forget to turn it back on.

No cameras were placed in the bathroom for privacy.

All caregivers were told about the cameras but we did not sign a notification.

We purchased inexpensive ones from Amazon but I am sure they are everywhere. My aunt's are "Nest". Sorry I cannot remember mom's brand.

Yes. We talked through it with mom as a way for her and us to feel more comfortable when not able to be there. There are several good Wi-Fi based that don’t require active monitoring by a third party. Ours trigger on movement or sound but can be moderately configured. Video saves for 1 day or longer if you pay for storage. Key is to be sure internet connection is stable and cameras are placed in an area(s) that they will inhabit regularly. Ours allow us to speak and hear thru the camera but there is a large lag so not super helpful and low volume can be an issue. Good luck

We have 4 Nestcam cameras in mom's house positioned to view areas she frequents. While we don't have one in her bathroom, the one in the bedroom gives us an idea of when she's in the bathroom. This is perhaps the best thing we did to enable mom to still live independently at 99 (though she does have daily family visitors and caregivers). The Nestcam system does not have a monthly fee (though there is the option to pay for saved images for longer than a day).

The WYZE cameras sold on their website or Amazon are great, very inexpensive and very effective. After awhile my mother didnt even notice them and they gave me peace of mind countless times. I could monitor her even from another state from my cell phone. Don’t hesitate.

My Dad has mild dementia which is progressing since my Mom passed in 3 yrs ago. We use three ring cameras..one is battery due to no plug in the area and other two are plug-in. You will need wifi and the app on your phone. The one with battery does drain quickly if there’s a lot of motion. (We also have our County meals on wheels who deliver lunch and dinner along with church volunteers in the evening Mon-Fri who visit to help him with his medications. I visit during the day when I can or fue Dr apts and am there on weekends to help with shopping, meals, laundry etc) The cameras are motion activated and each camera has audio so we can talk through it if he can’t get to the phone. I get alerts on my phone and iPad when there’s motion and can back track on the video to check on him too. He has privacy in the bathroom. If he’s in there for a long time we can call him on the phone that was installed in there to make sure he’s ok.

The cameras saved my Dad’s life last year as we could tell he was in distress..just not acting right…not eating or drinking all day and not walking well, although on the phone he said he was ‘just fine’….turned out he was in kidney failure and spent one week in the hospital.

We live 30 min away and have hide a keys outside at his place for emergency personnel if he needs immediate assistance and can’t get to the door.

These cameras are the only way we can keep him living ‘independently’ in his apartment home where he’s lived over 65 years. We took his car so no more driving ( he got lost coming to my home of 20 years) and We’re lucky he doesn’t wander. I did put life 360 on his cell phone but he doesn’t usually remember to take it with him when he takes a short walk so I also put a tile in his wallet, cane and keychain.

I know there will come a time he’ll have to be moved but honestly I dread it as I feel he will decline even more rapidly in an unfamiliar place. These cameras not only are keeping him in the place he loves but also give me a little freedom and peace of mind since his mind isn’t as reliable as it used to be.

I think it's a great idea. We have one in the dining area and one in the kitchen
The kitchen one we can see her bedroom door and the bathroom door. We will not put one in her room. I think that's too intrusive.
We also have one in the entrance door of the house. We can see if she exits the house. The door also has an alarm that alerts us via smart phones, if the door opens.
They have been valuable to see what care takers we're doing or should I say, not doing.
We can check on mom when we are out of the house. Giving us piece of mind. I think it's a great idea.
Best Wishes
BSuz.

Yes. I got LaView video cameras from Amazon. I put one in her bedroom, kitchen, livingroom and one to shoot down the hall. I checked on my mom several times a day. I could also talk to her through them from an app on my phone. It worked well. She fell out of bed one night and could not get up. I saw it on the camera and got to her within 10 minutes from my house. I told her through the speaker that I was on my way and to not try to get up. Thankfully she was ok.