Long Distance Grandma - Seeking Recommendation for 1St Time Grandma 7 Hours Away

Using the phone coupled with mail is great! Keep the phone short and sweet. Ask some probing questions - not just how are you. Things like "What did you do special today?" "What are the names of your friends" "What are your favorite colors"

Then mail - kids love to get mail. Send them a postcard from a trip or just from home. Write a note - and if they are old enough - print so they can read it. Send them little things - like $5 in McD's gift cards or some fruit snacks.

My sister (who is like a grandma) has been sending goodies like sidewalk chalk, used jammies from a co-worker and stuff like that. She does not get to spend as much time with my 2 and 4 year old as she did the others, so she is really trying to build a relationship. She old gets to see them once or twice a year. But when she does - she makes it count!

Kids just want time! Not money and material things. They just want you to make a fuss over them. She treats them so special when she is here. Just little things like playing with them in the bath, Playing a game with them, reading books - just watching them do things like ride a bike and telling them how cool they are!

I have a daughter that is 19 months old and my parents live 18 hours away. We fly there 1-2 times and year and they do the same. I also bought a webcam for our computer and one for theirs. All they have to do is give me a call and they can see their grand daughter. It does help some.

I also have a small book for my daughter that we received as a gift. It has pictures of her long distance relatives...grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. I show it to my daughter often and tell her who everyone is and stories about them. She already remembers my parents when she sees them and talks about them!

Just from a daughter's perspective...I really wish my parents and I lived closer and could be with us more to watch our child grow up. Unfortunately, circumstances did not allow it. We try to really appreciate every moment they are together and I am sure as my daughter gets a little older they will talk on the phone also!

Web cams are great. Have them take as many pictures as they can and mail them to you. My family and my husbands family are 4 1/2 to 5 hrs away from us. His parents are to old now to make the trip but my parents are not. What we try to do is go home every other month and my parents try to come down the months we do not go back. Good luck grandma.

T.

When we had our son, we were living ten hours drive time away from my mom and family. My mom was there for the week after I gave birth, then came to visit at least once a year, around his birthday and we always went home to Dayton for Christmas. The visits alone were great for re-connecting, but we also made good use of email, sending videos and pictures back and forth, as well as the occasional care package. They would send us cards, boxes full of hometown favorites (like Mike Sells and Esther Price) as well as little things she found out and about that made her think of us. Now we are back home for good, but because of the effort my mom put out, my son LOVES and is best friends with his "Mom Mom" and was even before we moved.

Web cams! They're wonderful! And they're pretty inexpensive too. You obviously have a computer...do they? You can get web cams at any electronics store. They're pretty easy to install and set up. You could even buy them one as a present. Set up a certain time once a week when you'll be able to chat. Other than that, email, instant messaging and online photo sharine sites are wonderful ways to chat and share pictures.

My husband's family is 10 hours away, we usually go down for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, then Memorial and Labor Day if my husband can get the time off for a long weekend.

This past year we did Thanksgiving down there and Christmas here with my mother who was living here. We're planning on going down for Memorial Day.

I hope this helps.

My sister was a role model for long-distance grandma! Her daughter lived 14 hours away, so it was an even greater challenge for her. She called often, even when the first grandson was little, and talked to him for a little while so he would know her voice. She was fortunate to be able to travel for birthday celebrations and one other time during the year, and the family came home once a year. She sent cards, pictures, and packages regularly...Nothing expensive, just "thinking of you" stuff like bubbles, glo-sticks, markers, etc. A friend did the same for her grandchildren. So when two of mine moved all the way across the country, I knew what I had to do. Since mine are 3 and 6 and we already have a great relationship, it's much easier for me. I send them books, letters, "thinking of you" stuff, and pictures often, and I talk to them on the phone. I get occasional emails from them too. It's not as good as being with them, but it helps. If you both have computers, you can get video cams so you can talk to one another on line, and see each other as well. Good luck!

Does the grandma have access to email and the internet? If so buying her a camera for her computer and your having one will allow you to communicate on a daily basis. She can see the baby each day and be a part of his/her life.

Along with email, web cams, etc the phone works wonders. My twins are 21 months old and my parents live 8 hours from us. The boys love to talk on the phone. This way my parents get to hear all the new words they are learning and we look at picutres of Gramey and Pappy when they are talking to them. My parents have a service where they pay a flat fee, I think 40 dollars a month for long distance so my mom and I talk everyday and the boys talk when they are in the mood. The boys do much better on the house phone (it's bigger) than my cell phone. They just want to play with the cell! Best of luck!