After living abroad for 7 years, we are no strangers to video chatting as a normal way of life. In fact, as much as we are missing seeing family in person, connecting online doesn’t feel that “unusual” to us.
After we had kids, we made it a priority to call our parents (their grandparents) regularly, and over the past few years, we’ve observed some easy, fun tricks that have really helped our firstborn to connect with his grandparents. I say “observed” because, for the most part, these ideas were grandparent generated.
Today, I’d like to share some of those ideas with you so that you can put them to use too.
- Share a special toy or object. The grandparents in our life have done this so well. One grandpa brings out model cars, and he and our son talk about the parts of the car and make up stories about who is getting into them and where they are going. The same grandpa has wind-up robots and teeth that sometimes join the fun (and often end up falling off of a table…Yep. That’s HILARIOUS!). On the other side of the family, Grandma found some bird finger puppets. When she and our son talk, the birds fly in to make an appearance. For a while, they were more popular than Grandpa!
- Read a book. On both sides of the family, the grandmas pick from a small collection of favorite books to read on screen.
- Sing a song. Even before our son could talk, he would “ask” my parents to sing “The Wheels on the Bus” by doing the hand motions. And they would (of course!) oblige.
- Play ball. My dad is the master of the invisible ball trick. If you’ve never seen it, you can check out this demonstration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0asDBZBUpWs. (*Note: This is not my dad. Also…the demonstrator makes a joke I feel is in poor taste at the end. You may want to stop the video after he shows the “how to.”)
- Start traditions. Take any of the previous ideas and make it a tradition. Or start another! Say hi to the cat or the dog (or fish!) every time you talk. Look at the weather outside. Eat breakfast together, or have ice cream at the same time. You get the idea!
We know how hard it can be to be far from family. I hope that these ideas can give you some fresh fun together as the world waits for permission to hug again.
Keep up the fight!
Your turn! What’s your favorite way to connect online?
P.S. Celebrate life!