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Well, it's been a few months and my senior mom still loves her iPad. Granted, the technology – relatively simple for me – has been a definite issue for her. She still struggles to use the iTunes to listen to her audio books. I left her with one open and reminded her to press the arrow key to play and the " mark to pause. When I checked back later in the day, she still hadn't listened to it. But by the time I got home, she not only had enjoyed listening to several chapters, but she was quite proud of the fact that she had finally figured out how to properly tap the go and pause buttons. And she actually used her whole battery up today! HOORAY.
Not only that, she glows every time I add new photos to her album and she has, for the most part, got that part down pat! To me, that makes it totally worthwhile.
My next project is to work on Smileboxes for various loved ones, and this year – that can include her. It should play quite nicely on her iPad and I know she'll really enjoy it. I usually make these with Christmas carols and I still plan to. But I might also make one with some of the grandkids voices.
I considered putting some Christmas-y wallpaper on her iPad, but I think that would make it too difficult for her to easily spot the icons she needs to press for the photo album, etc.
There are definitely more things to take into consideration for our aging parents' iPad than for ourselves. And by the way, did you spot the iPad link in Monday's roundup? If not, click here to read Part 1 and here to read Part 2 of an article by another boomer looking into all the things you need to think of to buy an iPad for a beloved senior. I already had a Mac and knew I would be using that to sync my senior mom's stuff. Since we live at home, I didn't have any worries about how and when to link up. But as this two-part article wisely points out, if you are thinking of giving iPad gifts for any of the elderly parents and relatives in your family who do NOT live with you, there are some vital considerations to think through first.
How about you and your parents? Do they already have an iPad as well? Got any tips to help us? We'd love to hear!
