Don't Say Goodbye Like This - Chronicles Of Old Age

One of the more difficult calls locksmiths make is opening a door for an elderly parent who’s aging in place. It comes from a relative who hasn’t heard from mom or dad in awhile, and needs to go check on them. Problem being, they couldn’t find the key to their place. These service visits are common for locksmiths, and a pro can typically get past 70% of the home locks out there, either by shimming, picking, or attacking the cylinder. The heartbreak on these calls comes when the door opens and everyone finds the older person lying on the floor unable to move, or worse deceased.

A basic home deadbolt or door knob lock requiring a key creates an unsafe, and potentially life threatening environment for families with older members who are living on their own. Asking relatives, neighbors, or others who are caring for loved ones to keep up with and ensure they always have keys to the property is asking too much. We can’t even keep up with our own keys to our own homes.

You may not think it’s a big deal, mom always just hides the key under the mat right. While it may have been there everytime in the past, this hiding place, and similar ones are never 100%, and mom or you may have forgotten to put the key back. If you’re out and about one day, and you just want to drop in on mom to check on her, or if she’s called you and needs you right away, your only option is to break out a window, break down the door, or call and wait for a locksmith, potentially wasting valuable time.

As awareness builds, and more products come on the market for monitoring our loved ones who age in place, an increasing number of families are installing keyless front door locks for their elderly parents. These keyless locks eliminate the chances of not being able to enter the property because of the inconvenience of needing a key. Electronic keyless entry locks by Yale Real Living and Kwikset provide for a key free and fast entrance without requiring a key. These locks are also easier on a day to day basis for seniors coming and going because there’s no inserting and turning a key, which can be difficult when someone has an arthritic condition. Lockey Systems makes a push button keyless lock in a deadbolt design for both front and back home entry doors. It takes the place of an existing deadbolt, has large easy to push buttons, and can last a lifetime.

The aforementioned solutions are cutting-edge, and won’t flatten your wallet. But in truth is there a price not worth paying to make certain you always have a quick way into your mom or dad’s home to check on them?

Lockey M210, M210-EZ Keyless Push Button Deadbolt Lock