Keeping the Family Connection at a Long Distance

If you live far away from your parents and siblings, it can be a challenge to make sure that your children grow up with a connection to their distant relatives. It doesn't have to be that way, though. There are plenty of ways to help your family connect over the miles, especially in this day and age with the internet.

Having a web cam can be a wonderful way to let both children and grandparents experience each other. Seeing just a photo is far different from watching a child playing with her favourite doll or holding up a drawing for a loving grandmother to see. When your children are small, set up the webcam to let grandparents and aunts and uncles watch them playing.

Talking on the phone is often overlooked now that online chatting is so easy. You might want to sign up with Skype or something similar to allow you more affordable calls. Try out the video calls and see how that goes. Children are better able to communicate with someone they can actually see, even if it is just on the computer screen.

Sending photos back and forth by email makes sure that your parents get to see every phase of growing up with your little ones. Take a digital camera to special events like school plays and karate promotions and when you get home, send a few pictures immediately through email. The great thing about the internet is the ability to connect instantly.

With all this high technology floating around, you may be inclined to forget about regular old mail. However, while a digital photo may be sweet and fast, there is nothing like holding an original piece of artwork from your distant grandchild!

Have your children regularly paint or draw pictures for their relatives and send them through the mail. You can add in handmade crafts such as the ever-popular ash tray or beaded necklace, as well. Grandparents can send handwritten notes and little toys or items that mean something to them. Having real physical items makes long distance relatives more real to a small child.

Keeping the contact fairly regular is also helpful. If you call your parents every Friday night, your children will come to look forward to this night as the night they get to see and talk to their grandparents. It will help create an excitement about knowing their relatives.

By keeping communication open and creating connections between your children and your family, you are also making it easier when your kids actually meet these people face to face. They will know them well, even if they have never properly met! The connections you make will be invaluable in the future.