An outdoor doorbell camera or an indoor camera can show you the front door at two in the afternoon from a phone in another time zone. The choice of product matters less than three questions: who sees the feed, what happens when the internet goes down, and what your mother agrees to before anything is installed. Compare on those, not on the feature list.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Start with the conversation
Talk to her before you buy. Say what you want to see and why: the front door, the walkway, the path from the car. Ask what she is willing to have on camera. Most people accept a door camera more readily than a camera inside the home. Agree on what stays off limits, such as the bathroom and bedroom, and write that down so it does not become an argument later. If you and a sibling or a neighbor will both see the feed, tell her that out loud.
Compare the things that matter
Look at the field of view and whether it covers the door and walkway without pointing into a neighbor's window. Check the power source: battery, plug, or hardwired. For a battery model, ask how often it needs charging and who will do that. Ask how it mounts, and whether it can go up without a drill if she rents or does not want to climb a ladder. Check the night view and whether the motion alerts are clear enough to tell a visitor from a passing car.
Read the account terms
This is where most camera setups go wrong. Ask where recordings are stored and for how long. Ask whether the camera still shows live video without the paid plan, and what the free version keeps. Ask who owns the account, whether a second person can log in without sharing a password, and whether the owner can be changed later if she moves or needs help. Ask whether the device records sound and whether that can be turned off, since some places have rules about recording audio. Ask what happens if a subscription lapses and whether the device keeps recording locally.
Test the outage before you rely on it
Before the camera becomes part of your routine, run a test. Unplug the router for a few minutes and watch what the camera does. Set a motion alert and check that it reaches your phone. Open the app from a different network to confirm you can see the live feed away from home. Write down what fails. A camera that goes dark during an internet outage is not a backup for anything, and you should know that before you need it. The camera shows you the door. It does not show you the stove or whether she ate.
Tonight
Ask her one question: would she be fine with a camera on the front door, yes or no? Write down the answer and anything she says about the rest of the house. If she is willing and someone is with her, check the Wi-Fi signal at the front door from your phone so you know whether the spot works before you order anything. If you want a person in St. Louis to look at the install spot with you, the local help page is the place to begin: Local Help for a St. Louis Parent.