Nowadays, having family and friends abroad is very common and in some instances even parents can work abroad for a portion of the week or even year. Helping kids to stay in touch is vital to ensuring they don’t feel disconnected from the person and are still able to maintain a good relationship, even if they don’t see them every day.
Set a schedule
Kids love routine so set a schedule for times you call the other person either on the phone or via Skype. If it is a parent or close sibling that is away, try to schedule communication at least once a day at the same time, once a week for extended family members is enough.
Try to visit
Although this may not be possible for a lot of people, visiting the person abroad can help your child to see the other person's life and to feel more connected. Trips to grandparents or family abroad can create lasting memories that your child will cherish forever.
Encourage your youngster to write
Communicating via writing takes longer but there is just something about a hand written letter that is more personal than simply picking up the phone. Encourage the other person to write back to your son or daughter so that they will have something to look forward to in the post. All mums know, kids love getting letters in the post.
Send packages
Help your son or daughter to feel a part of the other person’s life by encouraging them to send packages. Help them to pick out things the other person might like and to write the address on the box. Kids love feeling like adults and sending packages is a great way to connect and communicate.
Send pictures
Encourage your little one to draw pictures of themselves, what they get up to in school, favourite hobbies etc. and to send them in the post. Photographs are also great to chart the changes of the other person.
Scrap book
Get your little one to start a scrap book and to stick the pictures and letters that they receive into the book. This way when they are upset and miss the person, they can look back over the letters and pictures and feel a little bit more connected.
Skype calls
Skype calls are great but kids can often get a bit shy when it comes to talking on the phone. Try to encourage them to open up by asking them questions, starting conversations that involve them and, if possible, use a webcam which can make a phone call a little less awkward - kids can show things they made rather than just talking. Don’t make calls too long though as most kids don’t like talking on the phone for longer than a few minutes. Short and frequent calls are better than long infrequent ones.
