Being a caregiver for the elderly is no mean task, and those who are raised around Asian cultures know that filial piety rank pretty high in the order of importance for any family. After all in an ideal world, parents were the ones who raised us up right over the years, all the way from our diaper wearing days, seeing us through university with their hard-earned savings in order for us to land a cushy job in a high powered company. Isn’t it time for one to repay the favor then by making sure our aged folks are well taken care of? Unfortunately, life with those who suffer from memory loss or Alzheimer’s can prove to be quite challenging, but thank goodness technology has advanced to such a state where it could help one out – in this case, the Kind Reminder.

The Kind Reminder functions as a simple device that basically plays a comforting message recorded in the familiar voice of a caregiver, friend, or family member. It works best with those who are with early- to mid-stage Alzheimer’s or suffer from age-related memory loss. For example, a standard message could be “Hi, Mom. Today is Tuesday, you have had a good breakfast and taken all of your medication. Mary is here with you, and I will be back this afternoon.” Sounds pretty rudimentary, but something like this when played on demand has been proven to offer calm to one who is often anxious and confused. It does make us wonder why can’t a more affordable solution be used – for example, an iPod shuffle with similar voice recordings loaded onto the playlist for the user to play at their whims and fancies.

This is a notable effort from the daughter of someone who is an Alzheimer’s patient, and also works well for those who suffer from dementia. It isn’t unsightly enough that it can be worn as a pendant or placed on a nearby table or counter. Being relatively small, lightweight, and easy to operate, all you need to do is press the large button to hear whatever caring message that has been preloaded. These messages are easily changed and recorded, with responses to cater for the frustrating, repetitive questions often asked by Alzheimer’s patients in order to reduce caregiver stress.