--- title: "Day and date clocks for an older parent" description: "How to introduce a day and date clock to a parent without it feeling like a diagnosis, and what to do when they say they do not need one." lang: en-GB json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk/#organization", "name": "You Care Reminders", "url": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk", "email": "hello@youcarereminders.co.uk", "areaServed": "GB" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk/#website", "name": "You Care Reminders", "url": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk", "publisher": { "@id": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-GB" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I introduce it without causing offence?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Put it up as furniture rather than equipment. 'I got one for the kitchen and found it useful, so I picked one up for you' lands very differently from an explanation of why they need help." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if they say they do not need it?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Leave it plugged in and stop discussing it. Almost nobody refuses a clock for long, because it makes no demands and never mentions itself." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Should I mention dementia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Only if they have raised it. There is nothing dishonest about a clock being a clock — plenty of households have one and no diagnosis anywhere in sight." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is there a version that also reminds them of things?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Clocks that claim to do both usually do neither well, because the reminder still has to be seen. A separate service that calls, texts or sends a phone alert is more reliable for anything time-specific." } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Dementia clocks", "item": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk/dementia-clocks" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Day and date clocks", "item": "https://youcarereminders.co.uk/day-and-date-clocks-for-parents" } ] } ] --- [You Care Reminders Caregiver Support ](/) [Home](/)[How it works](/features)[Pricing](/pricing)[FAQ](/faq)[Contact](/contact) [Sign in](/login)[Get started](/signup) 1. [Home](/) 2. [Dementia clocks](/dementia-clocks) 3. Day and date clocks For families # Day and date clocks for a parent Choosing the clock is the easy part. The awkward part is putting it in your mother's living room without it feeling like a verdict. This page is about the second part. [Begin caring today for free](/signup)[How it works](/features) ## Why the conversation is harder than the purchase Most resistance to helpful objects is not about the object. It is about what accepting it seems to admit. A grab rail, a pill organiser, a big-button phone: each one arrives carrying an implication, and the implication is what gets refused. A clock is the easiest of these to introduce, because a clock is a normal thing for a room to contain. Nobody has ever needed a reason to own one. ## How to bring it in - Say nothing about memory. Say the old one was hard to read and you liked this one. - Set it up before you mention it, so there is nothing to agree to. - Put it where they sit, not where you would put it. - Do not test them with it. Never ask what day it is to check whether the clock is working. - If it is refused, leave it a fortnight. Familiarity does most of the work. ## What to expect once it is there Usually a quiet reduction in a particular kind of friction: fewer surprised phone calls about visits, less getting ready at the wrong hour, and fewer moments where somebody has to be corrected. Nobody will announce that the clock helped. It will not change anything about the week itself. Appointments, calls and the things that only happen on certain days still need someone to raise them at the right moment. ## For the moments a clock cannot reach You Care Reminders sends a short message in your words — a call, a text or a phone alert — at the times that matter, and shows you when it was acknowledged with one tap. Families often set two or three a day and no more than that. It sits alongside the clock rather than replacing it, and if the clock alone settles things, we would rather you saved the money. ## The wider picture 5.0 million people in England and Wales provide unpaid care, according to the 2021 Census. Source: [Office for National Statistics, Census 2021](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/bulletins/unpaidcareenglandandwales/census2021) ## Being straight with you You Care Reminders is a non-medical wellness tool, not monitoring and not an alarm. Delivery is best effort rather than guaranteed, and it must not be used for medication reminders. In an emergency, call 999. ## Questions carers ask ### How do I introduce it without causing offence? ### What if they say they do not need it? ### Should I mention dementia? ### Is there a version that also reminds them of things? ## Read next - [Calendar clocks explained](/dementia-calendar-clocks) - [Dementia clocks: buyer's guide](/dementia-clocks) - [Family care app](/family-care-app) - [Clocks vs spoken reminders](/dementia-clocks-vs-spoken-reminders) ## Set the first reminder tonight It takes about five minutes, costs nothing to start, and the person you care for has nothing to install. [Begin caring today for free](/signup)[See plans](/pricing) You Care Reminders Thoughtful reminders that help families stay quietly connected to the people they love. Wellness support, not medical advice. 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