With families living farther away from each other these days, grandparents have to get more creative to be connected to their grandkids. Technology has played a huge role in keeping the bond between grandparent and grandchild strong. Gone are the days of grandparents and grandchildren only seeing each other a few times a year with a call every once in a while in-between visits.
With apps, grandparents can see their grandchildren and engage with them in entertaining ways to build a strong relationship, which is important for the wellbeing of both the grandparent and grandchild. Apps can help to enhance their relationship between visits. With the use of apps, they can learn more about each other, make new memories, and keep communication strong. Here are eight of our favorite apps for grandparents to stay connected to grandchildren.
1. Video-Chat Apps
One of the easiest ways for grandparents and grandkids to stay connected is through video-calls. In fact, 24% of grandparents use these apps to stay connected. If your parents aren’t getting the engaging conversation they hoped for through regular video-calls, set them up with Caribu. Caribu is a user-friendly app for all experience and age levels.
Not only can your parents and kids talk to each other, but they can play games, read books, and learn to draw together. Caribu is a one-stop-shop for connecting grandparents and grandkids. Grandma can see their grandchild and their grandchild can play a game with them to stay engaged.
To keep these calls regular, set up times with your parents to have dedicated calls with your kids. Between your busy lives, sometimes weeks or even months can go by without interacting with one another and you don’t even realize it. For a kid, that’s a long time! Making these calls more regular is really helpful for kids to feel more comfortable with talking to their grandparents, especially if they are shy.
2. Messaging Apps
Some kids, especially older ones, prefer messaging. While a video-call is still an important way to stay connected, messaging apps are useful for both grandparents and grandkids alike. Messaging apps can keep them connected with quick messages between longer video-chats.
If your little one is just learning how to read and write, these apps can be a fun way for them to practice with grandpa. You can help them write out what they want to say. You can help write it out on paper, and your child can type it into the app. This can help them practice their letters and their ability to use technology. Your child will be so excited to get a message back just for them!
Messaging apps are great for grandparents too. Getting messages once in a while from their grandkids can really bring a smile to their face. They can try to get creative with responses so their grandkids can read them easily.
3. Gaming Apps
Grandparents and grandkids playing games together is a time-honored tradition. When grandparents and grandkids live on different continents, playing together regularly can prove to be difficult. Luckily there are apps that bring games to grandparents and grandkids no matter where they are, together or apart.
On Caribu, you can help your kids set up a call with their grandparents to challenge them to a game of Memory or Spot the Difference. They can also work together to try and find their way out of a maze or solve a sudoku puzzle. Grandparents and grandkids will enjoy bonding over these entertaining games, while still being able to talk to each other over a video-call.
4. Reading Apps
There’s something magical about a grandparent reading a story when you’re a kid. Grandparents and grandkids can read together, even if they’re far apart, through reading apps.
With Caribu, your kids can connect with their grandparents through the power of story. There are so many books to choose from. They’ll always have something new to read, or they can go back to any of their tried and true favorites.
There are also many cultural and historical stories to choose from in Caribu. These stories can become an engaging way to help grandparents share their own culture and traditions with your kids.
5. Art Apps
If you have a little Picasso on your hands, they’ll surely want to share their art pieces with grandma and grandpa. We doubt you want to spend your life savings on all of the stamps you’ll need in order to mail your little one’s art to their grandparents (at a certain age, kids want to save and share everything!). So, it’s best to use an art app to have your kids connect to their grandparents and share their art that way instead.
One way your parents and kids can connect through art is with Caribu! There are hundreds of coloring sheets, how-to-draw sheets, and blank sheets that they can color together. As your little one grows, they can make art together at different levels. Whatever your child is into these days, there’s sure to be a coloring activity for them!
6. Photo Apps
What grandparent doesn’t love to get pictures of their sweet grandchildren? We haven’t met one yet! What grandparents don’t love is how much storage pictures take up on their phones.
Photo apps can help eliminate this problem. You can set both your parents and kids up with a photo app to share. They can then both upload pictures to the app instead of having to use the storage on their devices.
Of course, grandparents will love seeing pictures of what their grandkids are up to, but grandparents can upload pictures too! Turns out that grandparents live pretty exciting lives! The kids will love seeing what they’re up to. Maybe they see an alligator in the pond out back or maybe a bear! Kids will love to see pictures and hear a story on their next video-call together.
7. Video Sharing Apps
Like pictures, videos also take up a lot of space. With the help of video apps, your little one can take videos during their day, and share them with their grandparents on a video-sharing app. You know how kids love taking the phone or tablet during a video-call to show grandma, well, basically everything? Their room, bathroom, the dishes you haven’t gotten to yet, the list goes on. Well, now you can let them get this little tour out of their system before their call.
Kids can also record things like their baseball game or dance recital (you may need to be the videographer for these) and send them to their grandparents. Your parents can send your kids videos of what they’ve been up to as well. Perhaps they go on vacation and they want to bring your kid along virtually. Video apps can bring yet another level of connection to grandchildren and grandparents.
8. Educational Apps
Your kids’ education doesn’t end when school is over. It’s important to reinforce the lessons they learn throughout the day in fun, engaging ways. One way to do this is to get their grandparents involved! Your kids and their grandparents can connect over educational apps. Oftentimes, these apps are so enjoyable, the kids don’t even realize they’re learning!
Even though grandparents may not live in the same house as their grandkids, grandparents may have a big role in a child’s education. Getting grandparents involved early in their grandkids’ education can help strengthen a bond and give your kids another avenue to look for support in school. It takes a village, after all! What better village than loving grandparents that only want the best for your children and their education?
Conclusion
The connection between grandparents and grandkids is an important one. If your family lives far away from your parents, it’s important to get creative to help build a bond between your kids and their grandparents. Using technology can help bridge the physical distance between them and help them stay connected in fun, engaging, positive ways.
When there’s long-distance involved, communication is key. Video-calling and messaging apps that help foster communication between grandkids and grandparents are crucial. There are also apps that keep your little ones engaged while talking to their grandparents, such as gaming, reading, art, and educational apps. Photo sharing apps and video sharing apps are best for helping grandparents and grandkids stay connected while saving their storage.
The connection between grandparents and grandchild is like no other. At Caribu, we’re honored to help keep this bond strong in families. Families aren’t always able to be together physically, but with the help of Caribu, that distance feels “virtually” non-existent!
Sources:
Grandparents Are Using Technology to Stay Connected | AARP
The Effects of Grandparents on Children’s Schooling: Evidence from Rural China | NCBI