GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024 - 20
connecting to grandchildren
Staying close from afar:
Bonding with grandchildren
across the miles
BY ELYSE PELLMAN
M
ore and more families are relocating to
different cities, states, or countries for
various reasons-a job change, seeking
new adventures, attending to spousal or partner
responsibilities, or just needing a life change. One
consequence of these circumstances for grandparents
and grandchildren is maintaining rich, meaningful,
long-distance relationships.
My husband and I moved from New York to
California decades ago, before our grandchildren were
even a thought. Fast-forward to today: our family
is scattered across the country, living in New York,
Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Spending time with our family means everything to us,
yet spur-of-the-moment get-togethers are a distant
past.
Looking for advice on bridging the familial geographic
divide, I turned to our 16-year-old grandson,
Trevor, is currently a high school junior in Long Island,
New York.
20 GRAND SummER 2024
Is there a magic bullet to building strong, long-distance
grandchild/grandparent relationships?
The key to success is being relatable and finding
common interests.
Consider having a weekly phone call or FaceTime
to chat. That lets your grandchildren know they are in
your thoughts and that you are interested in knowing
what matters to them.
Ask them about their favorite hobbies or activities
or what's new in their lives. Listen carefully when they
respond and ask follow-up questions. " My Poppy and I
are both sports fans, and we often talk about baseball,
basketball, or football (depending on the season) and
the teams we root for. We compare players, scores,
and stats. Also, my grandparents follow my track
scores (I am a runner and long jumper) and always
ask about my meets and personal bests. My Grandma
always talks with me about my friends and what we
have been doing outside of school.
" If your grandkid is a teen like me and looking into
A grandma/grandson trip to LA and the
Petersen Automotive Museum
colleges, ask him (or her) what they are interested in
and then go deeper with other questions. What subjects
are they most interested in? Which schools do
they like and why? (You get the point!)
My conversations with my grandparents make me
feel very loved and cared for. "
Continued on next page
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GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024
Contents
GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024 - Cover1
GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024 - 2
GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024 - 3
GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024 - Contents
GRAND Magazine - Summer 2024 - 5
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