Grandparenting from a Distance.

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Grandparenting from a Distance.

Grandparenting from a Distance has become second nature to us. We live in Victoria, Australia and our children and grandchildren live in Darwin in the Northern Territory (3 hours to the airport plus a 4-hour flight) and in London ( 3 hours to airport and 24 hour flight). We usually see the Darwin branch of the family twice a year but only see the London mob annually/bi-annually. It is hard to stay in touch. We speak on the phone quite often and skype as much as possible. As there is nothing we can do about the distance between us all, we have learned to live with it, but …………

Grandparenting from a Distance ……..

…..can be hard.

We grow so used to knowing every little thing that goes on with our children.  If they have children of their own, they don’t really appreciate how much you want to see them every day and enjoy every aspect of their lives.  But when the kids live in another city, state or country, it becomes harder to pull off.

seems almost impossible.

Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.  ~Author Unknown

Sure, you knew as far back as when the kids went off to college that you would go through some separation anxiety.  But the desire to be more in touch with your family goes a lot deeper than just a dose of empty nester syndrome.  It goes to the very foundation of who you are.

We are by nature family oriented creatures.  For many senior citizens, there never was a time when they were not in the middle of a family situation.  If you moved directly from the home of your parents into your married family and had children right away, family life was a continuous flow in your life.  So when the time comes for the children to leave, especially if that means they will be far away, the depth that you miss them is tremendous and the deep desire to be more in touch doesn’t diminish with time.

Is the answer to move to the same town where the kids are living?  Sometimes that is possible.  But we know that it’s the nature of young professionals that they may be moving again and again because careers that are being built often call for that kind of commitment.  This is less difficult for the kids if their families are young and they are enjoying the adventure of living in different places.  But for you as a senior citizen, living in one place, making friends, finding a church or social group and becoming part of a long lasting community is important to feeling secure as you enjoy your golden years.

Grandparenting from a Distance is much easier these days.

The good news is that we live at a time when information technology can help you stay more in touch than ever before.

There are new ways coming along every day that you can use to reach across spans of hundreds of miles and feel you are part of what is going on with your children and those precious grandkids.

A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart. 

Author Unknown

Some technologies that can help include…

+++ The internet.

+++ Digital cameras.  

The ability to take pictures has gotten so much more accessible with cameras becoming part of mobile devices, phones and other machines you and your kids may have on you all the time.  So you never have to miss out on a cute photo of what the grandkids did this week.

+++ Instant messaging.  

This is email taken to the extreme.  With IM you can have an online conversation with your children that is as dynamic as a live chat and stay up to date on everything that is going on.

+++ Webcams.  

This is the ultimate in staying touch.  You can go so far as to put cameras in different parts of the house so the kids can see grandma and grandpa every day and you can watch the children and grandchildren play and talk to them almost like you are there.

Here is an article which, although written in 2004, gives great ideas on other ways to stay in touch a deepen the bond between grandparents and grandchildren.

And another article  rewritten in 2008 from Oregon University.

For effective , the whole family will have to come on board and co-operate.They will have to  get used to these new tools of communication.  But as much as you will be thrilled to see and talk with your kids every day and see them so much more often with these new tools, they will love being able to have some “grandma and grandpa-time” with you as well.

So, even though you might only physically see your grandchildren once or twice a year, make sure the time spent with them is quality time – with lots of hugs and kisses, of course!!

If you are grandparenting from a distance, like us, please leave a comment and… don’t forget to share!