Parents at a distance want to Zoom with family

Dear Live Grand:

My parents are in their 80s and are content in their own home. The problem is, they live too far away for frequent visits. We want to use video calls for communicating, but they can’t make them work on their current technology. Lately, we’ve discussed buying them a GrandPad, and thankfully, they’re receptive to the idea. Are GrandPad video calls easy to use? They’d love to join our family Zoom calls, too. Could they do that with a GrandPad? – GF

Dear GF:

​It’s wonderful that your parents can live independently and enjoy their home, but we understand your concern. GrandPad’s simple video calls would genuinely enhance their lives while providing you with more peace of mind.

No need to be concerned that they’d have problems using this tablet. The designated family admin would work with one of GrandPad’s knowledgeable customer service agents to personalize the setup. Then, when your parents receive their tablet, they’d just open the box and turn it on. That’s it! To keep it charged, they’d simply lay it against the included cradle. No worry about tiny ports or misplaced cords.

During the setup process, the family admin would add pertinent contact information for friends and family to the GrandPad's Contacts. That means that as soon as one of you places a call to your parents, they’d see that person’s image and simply press Answer. When they want to call one of you, they’d just choose the person’s image from the Contacts and press Call.

The full Zoom experience is customized on GrandPad, so that’s easy, too. To join, your parents would simply tap an email with the Zoom meeting invitation and read the message. From there, they’d tap Join Meeting, then confirm entry. That’s it.

Photos can be uploaded during the setup process, too. Then, to view, they’d simply tap their Photos app and there they’d be! You can continue to add additional photos, and even videos, if your family likes making them.

Within the Music app, they’d be able to enjoy music from different eras and genres, including holiday, Christian, rock, country, or show tunes. They could even mix it up for their personal Music Collection.

The Games app is loaded with choices including card games like Texas Hold’em and Hearts, and word games like crosswords. There’s also a challenging memory game, as well as fun games like Tic-Tac-Toe.

We’re sure that you’ve wondered what they’d do if they had a question, but no worries there. The GrandPad home screen displays a large HELP button. If they forget how to do something, they’d simply tap that button and they’d receive live assistance from their personal customer service agent. Even more impressive, this help is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Your parents would have no problem at all using the features that you asked about, GF, but they’ll love much more about their device. It wouldn’t surprise us if they suggested that they each have one so that they could play games independently!

 

Live Grand is a weekly column brought to you by GrandPad — the simplest, safest tablet-based solution that helps reconnect families.

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