I live in a family with my wife, two kids and my mother.

My mother is frail and has already had one fall. We're now worried to leave her alone in our home without supervision. We can't afford private nursing care and she's reluctant to go into a home. Truthfully, she's kind of young as well at 73 to be going into a home.

She suffers from a little memory loss and diabetes.

We have so many activities to attend with the kids that take both my wife and I out of the home at the same time. Whether it be soccer, baseball, football, etc... We bring my mother with us when we can, but other times she's just too tired or not feeling well.

We're finding it very difficult to manage the life of our kids and that of my mother at the same time.

Is there something that can help us keep in contact with her or at least know she's safe? We've taken a look at medical alert systems and we're thinking of giving it a try (the I've fallen and can't get up help button) - although we're not convinced. We've also considered a nanny cam, but thought it might be an invasion of privacy. We just need a feeling that if she gets in trouble and we're not there, she can get help if a phone isn't around or if she can't use one.

Anyways, this whole thing made me realize how hard it is to manage both being a good parent to my children and being a good child to my parent.

I don't regret having my mother live with us, and I think my kids like it and my wife tolerates it (that's another topic!). Regardless, I couldn't bear to see her lonely in her own place. I also think it's nice for the kids to actually live and see what family above all else actually means.