Long Distance Relationship with 6 Yr Old Grandson

lots of good ideas out there!

Here's mine: find the book "Flat Stanley". My mom received the book from some of her adopted gkids (children of neighbors who moved out of state). She & the kids mailed it back/forth....along with stories of what Stanley was up to. They had a blast doing this project, & it kept the connections going - to the point that it's been almost 10 years since the move & they're all still friends & visit each year. !! All good things.

1. Skype is fun and easy. Especially great when you want to "see" each other, like when he loses teeth!
2. Buy him a Wii game you both would like. Then you can play something new together.
3. Become pen pals. We all still love getting mail. You can even send him little care packages, crafts, etc. Make him a deal that he HAS to write you back each time he gets a letter from you. It will help his writing skills too.
4. Be "book club" members. Start him on a cool "series" book like the Magic School Bus. Read the book, then send it to him. You two can talk about the book when he's done reading it. You can even send him questions via email so he can write the answers down as he reads it.
5. Buy him a museum or zoo pass every year. It might be a tax write off for you and it will give his family some "family time" from Grandma without the added expense. Plus it will instill in him the importance of the arts, animals, or whatever is important to you too.

Best wishes!

My father traveled cross country when my oldest was about 5 - he would send her postcards and little trinkets from wherever he was. Even if it was from the state he was in. At one point we had a map of the US on our wall & my dad was Waldo. The gifts could be a cool deck of cards, a thing of PEZ, at one point he sent her a disposable camera and had her take pics, develop them & send them back to him. She had a fun time doing this. The best was a scavenger hunt he did for her 6th b-day (w/our help) - he sent us the money for a new bike & had us map it out. It was one of her best b-day presents ever! And this was all done pretty much w/out the internet - just the USPS & phone. It was exciting for her to get mail & she looked forward to the phone calls. The last time my dad did this was about 2 summers ago, him and my stepmom were in Hawaii & they drove all over the island just to find some beaded necklaces my daugher wanted. Some may call him a sucker, but I like to think of him as a wonderful Pop-Pop :)

If you have a wii, a great game is animal crossing wild world. You guys can create a town together. Design your own house, participate in holidays, and it has cute animals in it. It's a social game. you can leave him messages on the towns message board send him mail in the game. It's really cute. My nephew, whom I raised for many years is 8, and we communicate through animal crossing all the time.

Skype is a great idea, because you two can see each other. It's like being there with him and if he can see you he may be more likely to talk with you.

A great thing that my husband does with his sons (4) who live across country is care packages. My husband sends them things like coloring pages they can color and send back to him. Cards, books, puzzles, pictures, small toys, clothes, DVD's, ect. Post cards addressed to your grandson with cool pictures on them will make him excited about the mail. It's great for kids self esteem to get old fashion snail mail.

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I live in NY, the inlaws live in NC. My kids are older now - 12 and 16. We never had any kind of Wii or things like that but the inlaws would send the kids postcards or even a short letter with a dollar in it and the kids loved it. They'd have pictures they took at car shows made into postcards for my son and he still has his collection of them!

How about doing a story together? You can mail a book or pages back and forth. You start with an idea (pick something he likes, like fireman, or superheros or whatever) and start writing a little bit. Then, you mail it to him. He writes the next part (might be a sentence or two or whatever) and mails it back to you. Then you write the next part, back and forth. Include a post paid envelope if you want or think that will help.

Ask him if he wants to finish the story, or if he wants you to, or have a "conference call" to decide the ending. It doesn't have to be long, or anything. And when it's done, you can probably use some free clipart to illustrate it and make into a more real "book." Enlist the mom or dad's help with this, as needed.

I guarantee you that he'll be super excited to check the mail every day, and think you are coolest grandma ever. :)

My five year old son and I just moved from CA to MD and my mom is looking for the same ideas :) So far we've set up SKYPE dates, which works out really well. The desktop computer is in his playroom off of the kitchen, so he can show her his art projects etc. and just talk.

We also use a children's webbrowser called KIDOZ which let's my son have his own webmail account (but he's limited to the contacts I set for him). They send emails and pictures that way as well.

I'll be interested to see what else people suggest.

If you are on facebook then both of you need to join pet society - a game where you are a little pet, with a house and stuff.
You visit with each other, chat and give gifts - go to parties and all sorts of fun stuff - my son, (8) has loved playing it for years, he has his own pet, and so do lots of my facebook friends, and his cousins who live in the UK.

Skype definitely. And some online games like Facebook Uno. Have his mom sign onto her account. You can get Ventro which is a way to talk to each other while your onthe computer. NO need to tie up the phone. Also my daughter loves mail always did. Send little cards just saying hi and put a stamped envelope in it for a return. You could probably even play tic tac tow or some other game that way.

My toddler daughter skypes with my father-in-law at least weekly. I agree with all the other things, but this is one of the technology advances that I love. She'll still hear his voice if she won't sit down. She asks to call and show him things now, which tells us that face to face conversations, online or in person, are vital. Keep doing the cards and phone calls too, but definitely try to get this going.

My mom lives five states away and travels a lot internationally and Skype is a lifesaver. That way she can always see her grandkids (same for distant relatives that we don't get to see often). We do skype to skype so it's free and they get to talk and sing together all the time.

We use Skype. We saw our first two grandchildren in pictures and over Skype for almost their first year. They were born in Saudi Arabia. Now our daughter is living in CA and we video chat with her occasionally.

At 6, you can have fun over Skype with your grandson. Don't be discouraged if sometimes all he wants to do is make funny faces! That is communicating, too. There is a tool on Skype that can do visual tricks with the picture that can be fun.

I guess skype is a big hit. I have never used it. I thought of this idea. Go to the Dollar store, or any discount place and buy boxes of greeting cards. Or make some. Nothing fancy, just cards with pictures he would like to see. Write the address on the envelopes and stamp them. Then every Monday morning, write a few quick notes on one and mail it. He will get it a few days later and love hearing from you in this way. Having them all ready to go makes it easier to grab one and send. If he is allowed goodies, now and then include a stick of gum, or a fruit leather. Anything that is flat enough for the envelope. Id send a dollar now and then and suggest a toy, or treat, or $1 movie if they have them.. And send photos of you too. And stickers, balloons, or confetti. Just some little odd thing to show you are thinking of him.

Skype is amazing! We live in Switzerland and both my husband's and my family live in the US. We have weekly skype dates with my mom and sister, and try as much as possible to skype with my MIL and my dad. It's great! My mom reads books to my kids and they've even played candyland over the computer. The possibilities are endless, you just have to get creative :) It is great because we only make it home once a year and my mom comes here once a year. Because we skype, my kids recognize her and there isn't that awkward time in the beginning where they aren't sure who this person is that we are visiting (like when we go to my MIL's- she isn't interested in skyping very much so the kids don't know her at all. Sad, but what can you do?) Good luck and have fun! :)

Skype is great. My parents live some distance away, so we do this with my kids so they can see and talk to their grandparents. It is fun for the kids because they can show their grandparents things... a lost tooth, something they made or something new they got. Also I bet your grandson would enjoy getting postcards or letters from you.

I use skype with our youngest grandson ( 18 months old) who lives in Florida...of course we are limited by his attention span but he loves showing me his latest obsession....golfing....or dancing for me. I will read books to him...in an effort to get him interested in an effort to really get him enthusiastic about reading. His Mom will hold the book up for us and I will make up a story about the picture...if I can't actually see the words. I would say to let your grandson be the guide... see what interests him and go with it. What are his interests? My 3 year old grandson loves talking to me about his swimming lessons and the t ball league that he just finished.
I wish I had more ideas for you...I understand how you feel about wanting to maintain a relationship when there is such a long distance between you. Personally, I think there should be a LAW that grandchildren need to live within 50 miles of grandparents until they are 18 years old!!
Good luck...I Hope you get tons of great ideas from the other Moms.

I agree, skype is awesome! My parents live far away, but we skype between visits. Not only do they love it, but my boys love it too because they can "see" grandma and grandpa. They can show them all the new things they can do (we have a wireless network so I can take the laptop w/camera outside) like riding their bikes. It came in really handy when my older one lost his first tooth. He could show grandma that it was gone. Skype has definitely helped maintain the bond between my children and my parents. What did we do before skype?

we have some friends long distance who use a program, I believe it's the X-Box Kinect, to watch Netflix movies together.

ETA: My husband informed me that it is the Kinect, and they can also use it like Skype, to just talk to each other, not just watch movies together.