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I need it to replace the regular watch she wears daily. She has a smartphone but doesn't always remember how to use it or have it with her. I want something that will show her the time without other things for her to fiddle with. I also want to be able to call her on it without any interaction on her part. I believe she can take it off to charge if I remind her. Fall detection would be nice. She should be able to call me easily as well. Let me know which would be best in your opinion

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Smartwatch has fall detection, but I doubt that she would be able to handle what needs to be done. When the wearer falls, the alert goes to 911 (or straight to God or someplace). They call or message wanting to know if you've really fallen, and you have to respond or they think you're knocked out or dead. So she could end up with EMTs rushing in even when she's only knocked it slightly against a wall and isn't hurt.

I also don't expect that she'd be charging any watch on her own. That's complicated for someone with dementia. You might think she could just put it on the stand beside her bed to charge overnight, but soon she most likely won't even know what the stand is for.

I hope she is no longer living alone. Dementia can advance very quickly, and you could literally be having a fairly intelligent conversation with her one day, and the next day she goes to staring blankly into space and not recognizing your face. Or the toilet.

My husband had a Smartwatch, but by the time he entered Stage 3, he didn't understand how to use the features. There is no training that sticks with a dementia patient. It was useful for tracking him when he escaped our home, though. It showed me on my watch and phone where he was, though there was about a 15 minute delay rather than being in real time.

I wish you luck on your journey with mom.
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Reply to Fawnby
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If she already has a smartphone and is already forgetting how to use something she was already familiar with, chances are she will not be able to learn anything new, no matter how simple it is, so please have tempered expectations about what is a possible solution.

Here is what ChatGPT5.3 came up with (and I don't have any personal experience with either of these)...

"Take a look at the Theora Connect watch. It's actually designed for people with memory impairment rather than being a regular smartwatch with lots of features.
The feature that seems particularly important for your situation is auto-answer. You can call Mom's watch and it automatically connects, so she doesn't have to remember how to answer it or even touch the watch. You can limit incoming calls to authorized people. It can have a simple regular watch face, and Mom has an SOS button to contact you. It also offers GPS/safe-zone alerts and optional automatic fall detection.

The downside I see is battery life—about 18–24 hours—so you'd need to establish a routine where she takes it off and charges it every day. There is also a monthly cellular-service charge.

I would specifically look for a dementia-oriented watch with auto-answer, rather than a normal Apple Watch. Someone with mild dementia may be able to operate an Apple Watch today, but the multiple screens, notifications and controls may become increasingly confusing. Auto-answer also means the watch can continue being useful even if she eventually forgets how to answer a call."

Apparently the Theora has better reviews. Kids' smartphones won't have fall detection. You won't get all the features in a single device so you need to prioritize what you can't live without.
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Reply to Geaton777
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They do make very limited smart watches for kids, takes and makes phone calls to a few numbers but no internet access, you can google to find the names and carriers. It’s true she may not get the hang of it but that’s the way I would go if you want to give it a try.
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Reply to Slartibartfast
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The problem with people who suffer from Dementia is that the short-term memory is gone which makes it hard for them to learn new things. Since longterm is still intact for a while, she maybe be better with an old fashioned landline that when it rings, you just pick up the phone. I found with my Mom, digital was good for her. She forgot how to tell time but could read numbers.

I have a Samsung and it has the option to answer automatically.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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