Last month I wrote about a smartwatch and its ability to provide discreet vibrating reminders, which help people with ADHD, Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury, and more. Today we are going to talk about a watch that provides reminders without a computer, tablet, or smartphone, the Watchminder. The Watchminder can provide up to 30 reminders per day and one training message that can be provided throughout the day at fixed intervals. These reminders can be used for attention, medication, positive behavior, appointments, and more.
Reminder Mode
In Reminder Mode, one can set a vibrating or flashing alert with a message for any time throughout the day. Once programmed, the same alarms will go off every day at the same times unless changed. Of the 30 reminders that can be chosen, twelve can be personalized with up to 8 characters each. As you can see in the pictures above, I was able to scroll through the letters and was able to spell “chocolate” with an abbreviation to make it fit. You can also choose from 50 pre-programmed messages such as “BACKPACK”, “GO MEETING”, MEDS 1″, and “CALL/TEXT”.
Training Mode
In Training Mode one can create a personalized word/phrase or choose one of 15 preprogrammed words/phrases such as “BEPOSITIVE”, “I CAN DO IT” or “RELAX”. This word/phrase can then be chosen to go off every 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, or 60 minutes. Training mode can be used in conjunction with the Reminder Mode ; however, if the alarms happen to go off at the same time, the Reminder alarm will “win” and the Training alarm will go off after the Reminder alarm stops.
Countdown Timer
The Watchminder also has a countdown timer that can be used in addition to the other alarms. It can be set for up to 12 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds at anytime desired.
Charging
The Watchminder is rechargeable with a proprietary clip charger. The directions suggest that a charge might last anywhere between 7-14 days; however, it depends on how many alarms one uses per day.
Waterproof
The Watchminder is waterproof; however, the manual does not suggest using it for diving, ocean swimming or rough play.
What I Like
- Rechargeable with a battery icon showing amount of charge left
- Waterproof
- Personalized reminders
- Easy on-screen programming
What I Wish for the Future
- The ability to have 10 characters for personalized messages just like the pre-programmed messages.
- The ability to lock a child out from erasing reminders or resetting the watch back to factory settings. Although the watch is easy to program, it would be very time-consuming to reprogram.
How to Get It
The watch can be purchased from their website and runs approximately $69 or $10 cheaper if you purchase more than one. IPAT has this watch available for rent through our loan library, so you can try before purchase, which I highly recommend. Please call 1-800-895-4728 if you are interested or reserve on our AT4All website.