For most of human history, grandparents and grandchildren were close—geographically and emotionally. But today, long-distance grandparenting is becoming increasingly prevalent as grandparents and their grown children (and grandchildren) move away from each other for personal and professional opportunities.

How can grandparents and their grandchildren maintain their personal bonds over distance and time?

1. Forming Friendships

Research on grandparents and older grandchildren documents that both generations define the grandparent-grandchild relationship as a friendship based on mutual trust and shared confidence. Central to this intergenerational friendship is leniency on the part of the grandparents, which shows itself as the near absence of moral judgments and criticism.

2. Staying Current

Grandparents stay engaged with their grandchildren by focusing on recent events in the grandchildren’s lives.1

More specifically, a 2021 study at the University of Salzburg showed that young grandchildren were most interested in telling their grandparents about daily activities (reading, meals, hobbies, homework), favorite places (school, a park, a friend’s house), and humorous incidents.

Interestingly, while grandchildren enjoy talking about everyday activities in their own lives, they’re most intrigued about unexpected events in their grandparents’ lives.

The Salzburg study also found that showing effectively augments telling. In video conversations, grandchildren enjoyed showing pets, books, toys, drawings, homemade food, and clothing. They were also eager to sing and play musical instruments for their grandparents.........

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