PARUGU

Your mother wants to video call her grandchildren. She holds the phone, stares at the screen and asks, "Which button do I press?" You explain once, then twice. By the third time, you sigh, take the phone from her hands and do it yourself. She says nothing, but she quietly hands the phone back, a little smaller in confidence than before. Most of us have been in this situation. We mean well, but the way we teach can make older family members feel slow, embarrassed or scared of the device. The good news is that most of these problems come from a few common mistakes, and all of them are easy to fix. This guide covers eight mistakes people often make when teaching a smartphone to elderly parents or grandparents, what to do instead, and a simple first-week plan to get them started. Why Do Older Adults Find Smartphones Difficult? Before fixing the teaching method, it helps to understand the problem. Younger people grew up with touchscreens, so swiping, tapping and "going ba...