iPad Adventures for Our Sandwich Generation Family! Fun and Frustrations of FaceTime

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Well, our Sandwich Generation iPad Adventures are continuing, though a bit slower due to my busy schedule. Now that school, including homeschooling, is back in session, I'm busier than ever with babysitting grandchildren. And my senior mom continues to deal with not feeling well due to a medication she is on (only two more weeks – YAY!). 

But I did get to practice some FaceTime with one of my sweet granddogs and the photos help illustrate some important pros and cons to the iPad for our elderly seniors. AND I've got a great tip for you thanks  to Ben Lloyd via Total iPad at Google Plus.

Here's a photo of granddog and me. I was talking to him while his mama was doing her best to keep him in the camera – but he kept moving around, trying to figure out why he could hear my voice but not see me in the room, trying to figure out why I was in a "box," etc. Kind of like a 2 year old might react, I think. Out of ten screenshots, these are the best I could come up with, before his patience gave out.  The first two are the best of the bunch, but you'll notice this one is a wee bit dark, and – in order to sharpen it a bit, my wrinkles REALLY come out swell, don't they? 🙂 

Here he's looking perfect! 🙂 But notice the tiny pix of me does get in the way.

And here's that's cool tip – you can easily use your finger to move the box with your pix in it anywhere you want. Making it easier for a senior parent to see their grandchild, though you may have to be the one to move the box. (I can't tell you how many times I was bugged by that but never thought to try it. 🙂 )

All of this leads up to:

Pros of the iPad for boomers and our beloved elderly seniors:

• It's fun
• It's a learning experience for both you and your senior parent – always great to exercise your brain, as I keep reminding my senior mom
• It's a true joy for them to get to see a beloved face they haven't seen in a while
• It's a true joy for us to see them see that beloved face – it can definitely lead to a tear or 5

Cons:

• Your wrinkles often show up MUCH more than you'd like
• THEY may REALLY notice those wrinkles and hate them – leading them to be less inclined to use FaceTime, meaning you have to keep encouraging them to keep trying
• Grandkids may move around more than a senior's eyes can handle
• If they don't feel well, they really do not want to try to use the iPad – both for cosmetic reasons and feeling too weak

The nice thing is that the Pros have some really great items while the Cons, so far, are not really that bad. So we shall definitely keep working on learning and using the iPad and FaceTime with the grandkids and, yes, the granddog. It really is fun to see him react to me positively and it's an enjoyable activity for his mama and me as well. Definitely a worthwhile adventure for all of us in the Sandwich Generation! More coming next week…photos and more…so…