Nanny cam for seniors

[sailorstitch]

I'm looking for recommendations for a nanny/security camera. I want it to help keep an eye on my mom who's recovering from a stroke. I also want to keep an eye on mom's in home care while I'm at work. We've had some issues....

I'm looking for something that records, not just live stream. I don't want anything that requires a subscription. Battery operated would be better than anything that plugs in. My budget is around $50-75. Hopefully for two cameras.

 

[lanejudy]

I don't know how well it fits your parameters but I have a friend who uses a couple of Ring doorbell cameras placed in the living room/kitchen areas of the house to keep an eye on her father.

 

[Travel60]

My son uses Ring to keep tabs on his dog when son is out of house. No idea the cost.

 

[sailorstitch]

Doesn't Ring require a subscription?

When I talked to mom's physical therapist about this she said not to get a Ring. She didn't say why.

 

[Micca]

Doesn't Ring require a subscription?

If you want it to record, a sub is required. I think it's $5 or $6 a month. Amazon has video devices, but I don't think they record. Good luck with your mother!

 

[sailorstitch]

If you want it to record, a sub is required. I think it's $5 or $6 a month. Amazon has video devices, but I don't think they record. Good luck with your mother!

Ok. I thought there might be a model that I could put a memory card in.

 

[Disneefun]

We use Arlo to keep an eye on my parents and their caregivers. The cameras are battery operated. I have to go over once every week or two to hook them up and recharge them. (Rooms with more activity require charging more often.) We did pay for a sub to record and keep video for 30 days. I can't remember right now what it cost, as we paid for the annual not monthly price. It wasn't exorbitant, though.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Sorry nothing to add to the conversation beyond saying I'm amazed at the amount of parents whose children “nanny” them. Very cute from my POV

 

[Imzadi]

Ok. I thought there might be a model that I could put a memory card in.

But, then you'd have the potential problem of the memory card "failing" especially on the day something happens. Also, if you don't look at the card regularly and clear the memory, something is bound to happen when it's full and nothing new is recorded. Or it accidentally re-records over a date you need to look at.

 

[HopperFan]

I have BLINK cameras and they save videos without a subscription.

We have a RING doorbell DD gave us but it requires a subscription so it is basically just a doorbell that talks.

 

[sailorstitch]

I looked into the brands mentioned. Ring and Arlo are out of my budget. Blink might work. I need to do some more research.

 

[sam_gordon]

How long would you need to record? This may be an "out of the box" thought, but what about getting some Dash Cams? This site: https://www.vantrue.com/blogs/news/...he recording time for a,a frame rate of 30fps. makes it sound like a 128G card would record 20-24 hours. If you can live with some compression, can probably go longer.

I've also read articles about using old cell phones as security cameras.

 

[aprilgail]

I had wyze cameras set up all over my house to keep an eye on my mom, also had ring doorbells and cameras outside so I would get notified if she tried to escape- all required a subscription. I did catch an aide physically being VERY rough with her and telling her to shut up while I was at work one day- drove home right then and fired her.

 

[focusondisney]

We used Wyze for my mom too. They do have record capabilities. One sister was the primary on the account & controlled stuff, but all my siblings were able to sign into the account so we could all check in at random times. And when she did have falls in the middle of the night, my sister could send the video so we could all see what happened.

 

[SteveH]

Before you install one to monitor the home care, make sure you understand the laws of your state and locality. You might be ok to record video, but not audio. You may need consent for either or both.

Also, be aware that Ring and others have been caught sharing/leaking the recordings. I had used Eufy cams but nothing inside my house unless we were gone. Eufy ran into the same issue as Ring. I've since ditched them and use a system that I control and save things locally. But I also only turn on the interior cameras when we're away from home.

 

[sailorstitch]

How long would you need to record? This may be an "out of the box" thought, but what about getting some Dash Cams? This site: https://www.vantrue.com/blogs/news/sd-card-capacity#:~:text=The recording time for a,a frame rate of 30fps. makes it sound like a 128G card would record 20-24 hours. If you can live with some compression, can probably go longer.

I've also read articles about using old cell phones as security cameras.

I mostly only need it while I'm at work. I don't really want to be on camera in my own home all the time.

I had wyze cameras set up all over my house to keep an eye on my mom, also had ring doorbells and cameras outside so I would get notified if she tried to escape- all required a subscription. I did catch an aide physically being VERY rough with her and telling her to shut up while I was at work one day- drove home right then and fired her.

OMG! I thought my mom's care taker was bad. I found out last week that he's been sleeping on the job!

 

[_19disnA]

Seems you have to define how you plan to use it to know which ones works best for you AND make sure your parents are in agreement with what you are doing. Need to establish what purpose you are intending these cams to serve. Will you have cams in every room? IF they fall in the bedroom/bathroom I doubt there would be a cam to monitor that. Are you simply trying to look in on your mom/dad in real-time to see they are OK or haven't fallen? Not sure why you would need to record that. If you don't trust the person you hired to watch over them, seems like the problem relates more to hiring someone reliable. Agreed as others mentioned above, you need to know your local laws and likely inform anyone who might be on camera that they are being monitored.

If it does record, do you want to spend time watching hours and hours or prior recordings even if it has a 'fast forward' feature?

 

[NotUrsula]

Your budget is fairly low for something that's going to be reliable. You may want to check your homeowner's insurance policy and see if there is a discount for having security cameras; the cost offset may enable you to buy a package set that lets you put one outside and the rest inside. (For instance, Costco has a sale going right now on a Wyze set that includes 5 cameras for $150). You also may want to check into buying a pre-owned system; people sometimes sell their old cameras if they upgrade to fancier ones.

Another option at lower cost if you were only worried about falls (or a caretaker sleeping on the clock) is to use motion sensors to let you know if someone is moving around the house during the day, or NOT moving around, which is the purpose most people put these to -- if the sensors show no motion when motion is expected, then it's time to investigate and find out what's going on. Newer baby monitors can also be used this way.

Trail cameras are a 3rd option, which can run on batteries and store video on SD cards, and usually are designed to have a setting to only film when they sense motion. They tend to not be able to be panned or tilted, though, and often must be painted or partially concealed in order to look inconspicuous indoors. The upside of trail cameras is that they have infrared function, so they can still give you video even if it's dark.

 

[fla4fun]

Sorry nothing to add to the conversation beyond saying I'm amazed at the amount of parents whose children “nanny” them. Very cute from my POV

Sadly, in this day and age, there are as many bad caretakers as there are good ones. We not only need to protect our elders from physical or mental abuse, but watch for theft and caretaker incompetence as well. Gone are the days you could hire someone and trust that they would simply show up and perform their job well. We were fortunate that when my mom needed home care, my sister and I were able to split up the days so we didn’t have to bring in any outsiders. I would have had cameras all over the place if strangers had been coming and going.

To the OP, you have received a lot of good advice. I would check first to see what the laws are in your area are in regards to recording employees in the home, and then think outside the box when it comes to what kind of system you install. Definitely check with your insurance company to see if it will benefit you as far as premiums are concerned. When you have narrowed down your choices, look for reviews online to see which were the most reliable. You ideally want a camera that can give you high quality video and sound, as there’s not much point in putting in a system only to find that you can’t see or hear people well enough to identify them if needed. Also, if you are hiring the caretaker through a service, check their contract to see if they have any restrictions on filming their employees in the home, just in case you may need to consider going with a different company.

 

[Suger Mag]

I bought a little camera off of Amazon to keep track of my mom while in hospice, It worked with an app on my phone. I did not record, but there was an option to put in a SD card as well as store in the cloud. It was handy, had night vision, ran off my wifi and had password protection. pretty easy to set up. She was bed bound so it did not have to move, but I could adjust the position from my phone remotely

YI 2K Dome Security Camera, 2.4G Smart Indoor Pet Monitoring Cam with Night Vision, 2-Way Audio, Motion Detection, Phone APP, Compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant

$34.99
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CQBZDZ51/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I put a sign on my Mother's room that said Cameras in Use to let her caregivers know it was there, they were not fazed and thought it was a great idea. We had so many folks coming and going with her visiting nurses, but it was more to monitor her and make sure she did not fall etc