Practical, calm, no jargon. We share what we learn from families using Getwello, and from our own.
Worried you can't reach an older parent and no one's nearby? Here's how to arrange a welfare check in the UK, who to call, and how to avoid needing one in the first place.
Read article →A plain-English guide to Carer's Allowance in the UK: who can claim it for looking after a parent, the main rules to check, and how to apply.
Read article →Pill organisers, phone alarms, and family-set reminders compared. A calm, practical guide to helping a parent stay on top of medication, without the daily phone call.
Read article →Most medication reminder apps were built for people who manage their own meds. Here is what to look for when it is a parent you are helping from a distance.
Read article →An honest look at the apps families actually try when they start sharing the load of caring for Mum or Dad. What each one is good for, where each falls short, and how to pick.
Read article →Attendance Allowance is the most under-claimed UK benefit for older people. If your parent is over State Pension age and needs help with daily things, they are probably eligible. Here is what it is, how it works, and how to actually fill in the form.
Read article →The most common stuck point in caring for a parent is not the practicalities. It is the moment they tell you they are fine and they do not need any of it. Here is what works, what makes it worse, and the small things that get them to say yes.
Read article →AI assistants can now answer questions about your loved one's daily check-in, mood and visits in plain English. Here is what that actually looks like, where it helps, and where it absolutely should not be used.
Read article →Most check-in apps work fine for the family. Half of them are useless to the older parent they are meant for. Here are eight things to actually look at before you pay for one.
Read article →If an older parent has become suddenly muddled, agitated, or 'not themselves' over the course of a day or two, the first thing to rule out is not dementia. It is a urinary tract infection. Here is why UTIs cause confusion in older adults, how to spot one, and what to do.
Read article →Working out who pays for what when an older parent starts needing care in the UK is one of the most confusing bits of admin most families ever face. Here is a plain-English overview of the system, the means tests, and the bits the council does not volunteer.
Read article →Telling an older parent they should stop driving is one of the hardest conversations adult children face. Here is when it is genuinely time, what the law says in the UK, and the approaches that work better than the heavy chat at Sunday lunch.
Read article →Repeating the same question every ten minutes is one of the most exhausting bits of caring for a parent with cognitive decline. Here is what is actually happening in her brain, why patience runs out so fast, and the responses that work better than the ones you reach for first.
Read article →It is one of the strangest, hardest phrases to hear from a parent with dementia, and one of the most googled. Here is what is really going on, the lines that work, and the lines that quietly make it worse.
Read article →Lasting Power of Attorney is the most useful piece of paperwork families can sort out before something happens. The forms are straightforward but the conversations aren't. Here's what to do, when, and how to bring it up without making your parent feel like you're closing in.
Read article →If you're caring for an older parent and small children at the same time, you're not failing. You're just doing two full-time jobs alongside the actual one. Here's what helps, what doesn't, and the boundaries that matter.
Read article →The phone calls and casseroles slow down after a few weeks. The hardest part is what comes next. Here's what we've learnt about staying close to a newly widowed parent without smothering them or stepping in too soon.
Read article →Most adult children looking after a parent don't realise they may be entitled to a weekly payment, or have looked at the gov.uk page once and given up. Here's how it works in 2026, what disqualifies you, and the bits the official page makes less obvious.
Read article →Telling normal age-related forgetfulness apart from the early signs of dementia is harder than it sounds. Here are the patterns worth noticing, and the gentle ways to find out without alarming anyone.
Read article →The hour after a fall is the one that matters. Practical steps, what to check before you do anything, when to ring 999 vs 111 vs the GP, and the small habits that catch a fall coming before it happens.
Read article →The discharge letter says one thing, real life says another. What we wished we'd known about the first week home, who to ring for what, and how to share the load before everyone burns out.
Read article →Loneliness in older parents rarely announces itself. Here is what to listen for, what changes you should not write off as 'just getting older', and how to bring it up without making them feel like a project.
Read article →Most families have these conversations after the fall, the stroke, the 3am phone call. Having them first means everyone knows who does what when it actually happens. A practical list, in plain English.
Read article →Most families keep the same visit cadence for years until something breaks. Here are the signs that weekly is no longer fitting, what to step up to, and how to do it without making your parent feel like they've lost their independence.
Read article →If you are waking at 4am with your mind already running through everything you have not done for Mum, you are far from alone. Here is what is actually happening, and a handful of small things that quietly help.
Read article →Most families know more help is needed before the parent does. Here is how to have the conversation without it turning into a stand-off.
Read article →If you're quietly doing more for Mum than your siblings realise, this is for you. How to make the invisible work visible without it turning into a row.
Read article →A fall, a hospital admission, a new diagnosis. The first week after a sudden change is overwhelming. Here is a calm, ordered list of what to do, and what can wait.
Read article →There are several quietly different things that all promise to keep an older parent safer at home. Here is what each one actually does, what it doesn't, and how they fit together.
Read article →Coordinating visits with siblings is harder than it sounds. Here is the simple system that finally worked for us.
Read article →There's no universal right answer, but there are signals that tell you whether you're calling too much or too little. Here is the honest version.
Read article →Most apps assume you are 35 and live on your phone. Here is what we changed for the people who don't.
Read article →WhatsApp groups are great for a lot of things. Coordinating care for a parent isn't really one of them.
Read article →If looking after a parent is causing tension between you and your siblings, you are not alone. Here is what helps.
Read article →If your usual ways of checking in have stopped working, here is a calm checklist for what to try and when to act.
Read article →Living far from your loved one doesn't mean you can't help. Here is how families bridge the gap calmly.
Read article →Three siblings, two with kids, one living three hours away. Here is the simple rota that ended the 'has anyone seen Mum today?' Sunday-evening panic, plus what we got wrong on the first attempt.
Read article →Loneliness in older adults is often quiet. Here are the signals to watch for, and what gentle changes help.
Read article →If you've been meaning to organise things but haven't found the time, here is the simplest way to start.
Read article →Older parents tend to value their independence. Here is how to stay close without being suffocating.
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