Let’s forget the fact that I need a mental break from parenting 24/7 through an extended spring break (though I do…). Let’s forget the fact that I need a night out with my husband (though we do…).
Let’s ignore all of that.
I’d love to be able to call in reinforcements to relieve my mental load. That relief usually comes in the form of my parents or in-laws. My kid wants and needs to see his grandparents. And I’m willing to bet, they want to see him too. But in an effort to make sure every one stays well, we are more than social distancing for now.
When your child’s grandparents are at risk of contracting the easily-spread coronavirus due to age or previous illness, you make the heart-wrenching decision to keep them apart. In spite of all this self-isolation, I still want to be sure they are continuing to build their relationship, and that my kids stay connected with their grandparents.
Help your kids stay connected with grandparents with these five activities:
- Send a word search – If your child is reading, or is starting to, have grandpa create and send a word search each week. This has been the sweetest activity over the last several weeks. Our Bpa sends a new, themed word search each week – one was sports themed and another had the names of all the cousins. We’ve used these as part of our “homeschooling” activities!
- Send a craft – Is there a crafty Nana in your family? Ours is going to gather all the pieces and parts together to drop off a craft on the porch for her grandkids. The grandchildren will get to put the craft together and then they will all do a Google Hangout for show and tell!
- Play a game together – Make sure you both have the same game and get set up to play over a video chat. Guess Who, Uno, Battleship, and Checkers are great games to play! Download the apps to play Words with Friends or Draw Something and play back and forth with the grandparents!
- Send letters – Send a good ol’ fashioned letter through the mail or share pictures your kids have drawn with the grands. This week we talked about the elements of an envelope and sent drawings to our grandparents and great grandparents!
- Practice phone etiquette – I’m fascinated by the skill set that children develop while talking on the phone. In a world where millennials are criticized for their inability to speak to others without texting, not only is it important to teach children how to interact in-person, but also how to correspond over the phone. Teach your child how to answer a call and interact over the phone using a willing participant–grandma! Help your littles stay connected with grandparents by encouraging regular phone calls from home.
They may not be able to share hugs, but your kids can stay connected with grandparents during this unprecedented COVID-19 quarantine.
