Long-Distance Grandparenting

The world may be getting smaller but for many long-distance grandparents, it isn’t small enough.  How do grandchildren develop a close relationship with their grandparents when they may live on the other side of the world?

Visiting once or twice a year cannot make up for all the little moments we miss, that fill our memories of childhood, when we are apart from our family.  But with a little creativity and tech training, grandparents can be actively involved in the next generation’s lives no matter where they live.

Setting up Skype calling through a computer is one way grandparents can see and talk with their grand babies even at a great distance or when they can no longer travel.  Kids can share performances and stories, pictures and even the family pet.

Teenagers are harder to reach and may not always be willing to stick around for the family chat with grandma but they may appreciate a text wishing them good luck on an exam even though they would never admit to it.  Sharing photos and interesting articles through email, a photo-sharing website or a family Facebook account is catching on among seniors.  They enjoy keeping up with everyone’s lives and occasionally sharing something of their own;  even playing an online game of Words with Friends can develop a common link between generations.

Snail mail is still a great way to keep in touch with family.  Nothing beats receiving something in the mail addressed to a child.  It’s exciting to open an envelope or package at any age, and it shows somebody really cares about you to have gone to the effort to put pen to paper in a digital age.