Summary: Many expat families hope that the old saying "out of sight, out of mind" doesn't hold true and grandparents ask, "How can we keep our grandchildren better connected with us?"

Today, millions of families around the globe are separated by distances that are too vast to make a day-to-day relationship possible. Think of the people you know or work with - how many of your friends, neighbours or colleagues live in families with two or three generations living nearby?

Whether in search of new pastures, to heed the call of adventure or to further their careers, people have been on the move for centuries. But whatever the reasons, we know that distance adversely affects family closeness and especially the grandparent-grandchild relationship.

Many expat families hope that the old saying "out of sight, out of mind" doesn't hold true and grandparents ask, "How can we keep our grandchildren better connected with us?"

One of the great joys of growing older is the arrival of grandchildren and the mutual adoration that so often develops between the youngest and oldest members of a family. Relationships with children grow through constant care. When you are living close, this type of care comes easily through the time you are able to spend together.

However, when you're living thousands of miles apart, this becomes more difficult to accomplish. There are a variety of fun activities that expat grandparents can do with their grandchildren overseas (or vice versa) which will help to maintain and strengthen their special bond:

Create an audiotape of yourself reading a bedtime story and send it to your grandchild with a copy of the book.

Send a plastic jar in the mail that contains the exact number of small sweeties (nothing that will melt though) as days that are left until your next visit. Attach a little note asking your grandchild to eat one a day until you are together again.

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About the Author Dominique Lummus has been writing for over a decade and contributes to media worldwide. Many of her articles have appeared online and in publications as diverse as Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, Dubai's Connector Magazine and the UK's Cat World Monthly. Dominique, who is an Anglo-Italian hybrid, has lived in Italy, England and the USA, then spent twelve years in Dubai, UAE, before emigrating to Australia in 2002. She now lives on the Gold Coast with her architect husband Bryn and their two teenage children. Her blog is pomsinoz.blogspot.com.

First Published: Aug 16, 2008