senior assisted living blog

Grandchildren are one of the major benefits of growing older and it is important to stay as involved in their lives as possible. This can be difficult though when family members live in different parts of the country. Seniors may feel apprehensive to drive such long distances to visit their families. However, there are ways that grandparents can stay in contact with their grandchildren when distance becomes an issue.

The digital age has brought a vast amount of ways people can share information with each other. Online photo galleries such as Flickr (http://www.flickr.com) and Snapfish (http://www.snapfish.com) are great ways for parents to upload pictures of the kids for grandparents to view. You can post comment, download and print right from your home computer to keep updated photos around the house. This saves time and money by not sending photos through traditional mail services.

Another great way to interact with family is through video chat software, which enables you to see a live, streaming picture via webcam of the party you are calling. Sites such as Skype (http://www.skype.com) offer this service for free and are easy to use as dialing a number on a telephone. Grandparents can set aside a weekly time to video chat and see their grandchildren and families first hand. 

Please comment below on some creative ways that you have found to stay in touch with long distance family members.