How to Video Chat with Grandparents
Mid Autumn Festival is just around the corner and it is a festival that is all about family reunion and togetherness. But if you're an expat like me, there is likely to be some serious distance from the grandparents. Thanks to video chat technology, like Skype and FaceTime, the distance can be shortened instantly. But it is almost impossible to get a small child to sit still for a video chat.
So here are some activities we do to keep my busy toddler engaged and interacting for a succesful chat with grandparents. And as I mentioned in a previous post, these video chats also help increase my kids' Cantonese exposure while mommy gets some rest. Kill two birds with one stone (一石二鳥; Jyutping: jat1 sek6 ji6 niu5)!
(Finger) Puppet theater. It's show time! The Skype window is the perfect puppet stage. My parents prefer finger puppets as they find them easier to maneuver in front of the camera. And my parents found these goofy googly eye puppets. My baby and toddler went nuts!
Make crafts. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Grandparents can simply pull out a pen and paper, draw what the little one asks for and hold the drawing up to the camera. Or you can print out a coloring page and email the same one to the grandparents so they can color with the kids. There are some brilliant choices on my "Kids: Coloring Pages" Pinterest Board. My toddler loves correcting grandparents though, "No, the shoes should be pink, not blue!". Great opportunities to practice some color vocabulary.
Eat together. We're lucky that our lunch time is close to grandparents' dinner time. So sometimes grandparents eat with us. My toddler is excited to show the grandparents what she is eating (great time to practice food vocabulary and learn some new ones). As grandparents only eat with chopsticks, my little one is eager to eat with her training chopsticks too during these lunch dates. If the time difference does not allow grandparents to eat a meal together with your kid, they can always have a snack together. Kids get chatty when they eat.
Watch grandma cook. One time grandma set up the iPad in the kitchen and talk through what she's doing. My little girl loves watching grandma cook. One time my little girl asked me to drag out her toy kitchen so she could cook with grandma too - it was really adorable. Grandma can also ask the little one to help, say, to count how many eggs she needs in her recipe or what she should use to mix food.
Have a dance party. You can tape out a "stage" where your kids can dance and entertain grandparents. Turn up the music, throw in a few props (e.g. dance ribbons, wigs, tutu skirt, etc.) and let your kids transform into the greatest entertainer in history. Grandparents can join in the fun and dance around (or even sing along!) too.
Read books. My children are obsessed with books. So whoever is willing to read them a story or two will get their undivided attention. Grandparents have a few big picture books so they just pop a book in front of the camera and start story time.
With a bit of creativity (and good internet connection!), overseas grandparents can have hours of fun with their grandchildren via video chat too. So what's your experience video chatting with grandparents? Share in a comment.
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