Grandma-Friendly Remotes Are the Life Hack Everybody Needs

Grandchildren across the Internet have invented a new way to “grandma-ify” remote controls so their grandparents can use them more easily, and the results are pretty funny.

“My grandmother complained her remote was confusing, so I grandma-ified it for her,” wrote a helpful grandson who posts on Reddit as JoKer730.

(Via Imgur)

Honestly, that does seem more useful than the standard mess-o-buttons displays on most remotes these days. If you just need to turn it on turn it off, change the channel and adjust the volume, all the other inputs are just distracting.

I’m a pretty techy person, and I have no idea what most of the buttons on my parents’ remote controls do. And yes, I said “controls,” plural, because my parents have one of those weird, high-tech-for-the-1990s setups that means they have to use three remotes to make any one media-playing device work. My dad keeps a handwritten set of instructions containing all the steps necessary to turn the TV on in a drawer next to the TV.

According to Metro, JoKer370 is not the only helpful grandkid out there who has thought to use a bit of paper and tape to make a grandparent’s life a bit easier. Several other “grandparent-friendly” remotes have been posted to Twitter and Reddit, showing basically the same process: Just tape over everything that isn’t the on/off button, the volume and channel controls, and the number pad.

Certainly there are plenty of tech-savvy grandparents out there who know how to use their remotes just fine. But for those who are not in that group, a roll of masking tape might be the solution everyone needs.