Appropriate Motion Lamps for the Elderly?

[Mmm...]

What's a good choice of motion light for an elderly person living in an assisted living environment? I love my lava lamps so much and turn them on daily. Am thinking my 87 year old mother (with dementia) would enjoy one in her tiny living space as well, but it would need to be "elderly friendly" to operate. By that, I mean: 1) won't heat up enough to burn her if she accidentally touches it, 2) won't self-destruct if she forgets to turn it off (although I will probably just attach it to an automatic timer), 3) can be kept "on" for long periods of time, 4) requires no special care or attention, 5) has an entertaining "wow" factor, and 6) is fairly reasonably priced. Any suggestions? Do any of you have experience with providing a motion lamp for an elderly relative? How did that work out? Looking forward to hearing your recommendations.

[Ian]

Well it's extremely hard to get a lava lamp that doesn't get too hot, as that is the main way they flow and look amazing! But from my experience with lamps, the older lava lite centuries (not the new Heritage centuries) do not get nearly as hot as any other lamp I own, have great, oozy amazing flow, and are fairly difficult to tip over. The only thing is you can only find them in thrift stores or on eBay, and can be difficult to find. And a timer would be an excellent idea, as any lava lamp can be ruined from leaving it on too long.

[Mmm...]

Actually, that's a pretty good idea. The older wizards look pretty stable, too. Vintage lamps are pretty easy to get on E-bay and Craig's list. If I set it up with a timer, I can place it where it is highly visible, but still inconvenient for her to reach. I really think she would enjoy a lava lamp every bit as much as I do!

[Ian]

The old wizards are much more stable, but also get much hotter than the centuries. However, it it's out of reach, it should be a big problem :) the wizards have great flow as well, and are neat cause of the star and moon cutouts in the base.

[Ian]

Oops lol I meant it shouldn't be a big problem.

[Metallica Man Trevor]

The clearview doesn't seem to get very hot

[064idi3z31saf]

ebay has great nightlights that are both glitter and lava or try buying her the 10W-15 watt bulb lamps that don't get hot enough to burn or melt something if they tip over. 

[Mmm...]

A!l great ideas!  Thank you!  Because of her vision problems, I've steered away from the glitter lamps. Don't know how much of the sparkle and movement she would be able to see. But what about those fish aquarium lamps? They strike me as being kind of tacky, but she's from the generation that didn't mind covering their sofas in plastic, so I doubt that would be a big concern for her. Is there a good amount of color, light and movement in those lamps?  I assume that they don't require as much heat to activate as a standard lava lamp. Is that true?

[VOXul]

I think the aquarium lamps just run a small bulb to illuminate and use magnets to move the fish around, I could be wrong.  I agree with Trevor on the Clearview, they don't get toooo hot but still put off some heat. The added viewing space in the lamp could be a perk for them as well :)

Edit: I think the aquarium actually runs LED and the bubbler makes the fish move, not magnets. Tecno fish video of them in action, HAHAHA!

[Mmm...]

  Ha, Ha!  Too funny!  And eerily unnatural.  I kind of got a kick out of the jelly fish but the other ones freak me out. Don't think I'll go that route. But THANKS for the video clip. Definitely answered all my questions about the aquarium lamp!

[VOXul]

Agreed, kinda hyper, the jelly was funny! I am willing to bet you can slightly hear them tap around too. Maybe their ears are a lil rusty since they are elderly but that might creep them out

[Carol]

Does anybody remember the Spencer lamps that just twirled making it look like the dinosaur's are moving?  They also had the fish ones which were pretty too!!  They were making all kinds of those types lamps according to the recent craze.  They even had a Spiderman one I think.  When I was going through my disco ball/lighting craze I picked up a few of these.  Eventually the motors burned out and they only lit and stopped spinning.  Do they even still sell them?  That might be a nice option for a small child or an elderly person as they are all plastic and take a small wattage bulb.  Really simple idea too.  A simple printed piece of paper spinning with a light backdrop.  God, why couldn't I have invented something like that, lol!!  I know I'm late on this reply, but thought it a nice alternative idea to the lava's for ppl that really can't have lava's in their environments (sadly).  My neighbor has 5 small boys and said lava's in her home would be a big NO NO!!  haaaa.  My 15 year old son was throwing a ball around for my 5 dogs and my new lava is happily oozing away, UNTIL......well, let's just say, Mama Duke's had a MELTDOWN.....hey, a meltdown....no pun intended!!!