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title: "How many daily reminders are too many?"
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1.  [Home](/)
2.  [Caring for elderly parents](/caring-for-elderly-parents)
3.  How many reminders is too many? 

Honest answer

# How many reminders is too many?

Every family starts with too many. The instinct is to cover everything, and covering everything is precisely what makes none of it work.

Short answer

Three or four a day is the practical ceiling for most people. Beyond that they stop being events and become background noise, which costs you the important ones too.

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## Choose by consequence

Ask what actually goes wrong when the thing is missed. Missing a drink on a hot day matters. Missing a prompt to water the plants does not. Set reminders only where the consequence is real.

## A sensible starting set

-   Mid-morning: a drink. 
-   Midday: the main meal. 
-   Mid-afternoon: a drink and a short walk or a call. 
-   Early evening: the evening meal, or a call to family. 
-   Nothing overnight, and nothing during the difficult late-afternoon hour if that applies. 

## Signs there are too many

Confirmations dropping off, complaints about the phone going all day, or a burst of five confirmations at once in the evening. All three mean the prompts have become something to clear rather than something to act on.

## Add slowly

Start with two. Add a third after a fortnight if the first two are holding. It is much easier to add one than to withdraw four without it feeling like something has been taken away.

## Being straight with you

You Care Reminders is a non-medical wellness tool, not a monitoring service and not an alarm. Delivery is best effort rather than guaranteed, and it must not be used for medication reminders. If you are worried about someone's health, speak to their GP; in an emergency, call 999.

## Questions carers ask

### What about weekends?

### Should reminders repeat if ignored?

### Can we have different reminders for different days?

## Read next

-   [How to remind someone with dementia](/how-to-remind-someone-with-dementia)
-   [Prompts without taking over](/prompts-without-taking-over)
-   [Are daily check-ins intrusive?](/are-daily-check-ins-intrusive)
-   [MCI memory routine](/mild-cognitive-impairment-daily-prompts)

## Set the first reminder tonight

It takes about five minutes, costs nothing to start, and the person you care for has nothing to install.

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Wellness support, not medical advice.

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-   [Compared to dementia clocks](/vs-dementia-clocks)
-   [Why smart alarms fail](/why-smart-alarms-fail-older-adults)

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-   [Dementia clocks](/dementia-clocks)
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