Keeping in touch with grandchildren long distance

Karen Best Wright, www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com

It can be a challenge to keep in touch with the grandchildren who do not live near you, especially if you are one of the grandparents who are already raising some of your grandchildren. Phone calls may seem the obvious and are important, but there are more things that we can do to remind the children we are thinking of them. I recently created cards for a few of my grandchildren on my computer. I created a note about 5" x 7" and put a picture of me and the grandchild at the bottom of the card. I did this in a graphics program, but it could just as well be done by hand. Just make sure whenever you see your grandchildren in person that you get a picture of the two of you. That way you can add it to any cards that you send them. It makes it more personal when they read a note or letter and see the two of you together.

Please pass on any good ideas that you might have for keeping in touch with the grandchildren you are not raising.

Karen Wright
A grandmother who loves her grandchildren

Comments

[Tina]

I have three grandchildren, and due to the marriage breakup of one of my sons, I do not get to see two of them. Recently though my son set me up on a website called www.finerday.com. It has started to change our lives. I am not very clever with computers, but I can easily message and share photos with them. I have been told that the website is very safe and so my grandchildrens mother allows them to use it.

I am always adding new photos for them and they have added some too. This contact means the World to me.

[Jean]

Hey Karen, have you been contacted yet from grandchild connnection? I was and they are a very expensive service. They charge $345 for a subscription package, a limited time toolkit is $65, a webcam $50 (much cheaper elsewhere). I just found the site to not be very cost supportive of grands raising grands. I have done a lot of what they suggest on my own. Some people will pay the cost I am sure, but I won't.

[CurtissAnn]

What a great idea! Thanks so much.

[Susan Adcox]

One of my friends buys scrapbooking paper and uses the white side to write letters to her grandchildren. Her grandchildren love getting old-fashioned snail mail! There are lots of high-tech ways to connect with grandchildren. Read my article about long-distance grandparenting at http://grandparents.about.com/od/grandparentingissues/a/LongDistance.htm. I love your idea of using photos to document your special relationship with grandchildren. Since I'm sort of the family photographer, I don't have many photos of myself with the grands. I'm going to have to start giving the camera to someone else once in a while!