Staying Close to Family Across the Miles
Kids and grandkids scattered across the map? Small, regular touches keep you close.
Prefer to watch? Here is the video version (large print, no sound needed). Watch on YouTube
When I was young, family lived down the road. Now, for a lot of us, the kids are in three time zones and the grandkids are growing up on a screen. Distance doesn’t have to mean drifting, though. The trick is small, regular touches.
1. Set a standing call
The hardest part of keeping in touch is the planning. A standing call takes care of that. Same day, same time, every week.
- Video calls let the grandkids show you their latest drawing, loose tooth or science project.
- Keep it short and easy with little ones. Ten minutes of fun beats an hour of fidgeting.
- Not comfortable with video yet? Ask a family member to set it up once, and keep the steps written on a card by the phone or tablet.
2. Mail a real letter
In a world of texts, a handwritten letter or postcard is a small event. Kids especially love getting mail with their name on it.
- Send a postcard from your next day trip.
- Tuck in a comic strip, a pressed leaf or a photo from when their parent was small.
- Start a back-and-forth "letter journal" that you mail to each other.
3. Share a hobby from a distance
- Read the same book and talk about it on your weekly call.
- Watch the same ballgame and text each other during it.
- Play a word game or a card game together on your phones.
- Cook the same recipe on the same night and compare results.
Try this today
- Choose one family member you’d like to be closer to.
- Send them a short note or postcard this week.
- Suggest a standing call: "Same time next week?"
When visits are hard
If travel is difficult, help the family plan visits that work for you: a nearby hotel with an elevator, a slower pace, rest days built in. And don’t be shy about asking them to come to you.
Who’s overdue for a letter from you?