Dana Gutkowski
Latest posts by Dana Gutkowski (see all)
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Being a Long Distant Aunt is no easy task. We’ve got a lot working against us. You’re probably well aware that kids have shorter attention spans and are often surrounded by a lot of stimulation.
It’s not their fault, we live in a fast-paced world where technology is at our fingertips. Every adult is dealing with that, but us long distance Aunts must work even harder to hold their attention because you’re not physically there to interact with them.
If you want to bond with your nieces and nephews, you have to get creative. Luckily, I’m here to share with you 10 fun activities using your smartphone to bond with your
Since you can’t just drop in for a quick dinner, pick them up from school, or schedule an impromptu sleepover because you’re hundreds of miles away, you’ve gotta come up with other ways to bond. Since I became a Long Distance Aunt 9 years ago, I’ve made it my mission to remain close to my niblings.
I’m not one to give myself too many compliments, but this one I’ll own quite proudly: I’ve done a damn good job at it. I have a very strong bond because I put the effort in to make time for them during and in between our visits.
Screen time is a pretty big concern for a lot of parents. Many try to limit their children to a specific amount of time per day, depending on their age, and I can’t say I disagree.
They don’t have to spend a tremendous amount of time on the phone with you, but it’s really important that they consistently hear your voice and see your face. Thank goodness for FaceTime! You can do a lot with Skype and FaceTime (those are the only 2 I’ve ever used).
Your phone can be a distraction, a crutch, and a social inhibitor, but it can also be your best friend. When it comes down to making time for your
Sure, you could always just pop in for a FaceTime or Skype call, but why not have some fun while you’re at it?
Here are the 10 fun things to do on FaceTime to form a bond with your nieces and nephews:
1.) FaceTime For Dinner
Everyone eats dinner, right? Just because you can’t make it to their dinner table, doesn’t mean you can’t share a meal.
It depends on how you feel about scheduling meals, but for my family, we make it pretty simple. Sometimes my sister and I ask each other if we’re free to FaceTime for dinner on a certain night, and other times we just pop in on each other’s dinners.
I love doing this for two reasons:
Reason 1.) Layla, Jayden, and Julian all get to see my face in real time. I’m not a picture on the wall or an obscure voice trying to hold their attention. We can make eye contact, watch each other laugh and share a meal from over 400 miles away.
Reason 2.) They have to sit for dinner. It’s not always easy to keep the attention of kids, at dinner time, I have a better chance at succeeding. My floating head now becomes a focal point.
2.) Snapchat
With my sister’s permission, the kids were allowed to download the Snapchat app. We use it to make phone calls and send bitmojis back and forth. I love Snapchat because it holds their attention with the funny filters and it’s a way for us to play long distance. It’s almost like we’re playing dress up, but the wardrobe changes are much faster.
My niece, Layla is the only one that reads and writes at the moment, so she’ll also send me little Snapchat texts every once in a while. It’s usually when she’s headed to bed, she’ll wish me goodnight. Or sometimes when she’s super about something. Like when Nonna makes her favorite dinner, meatballs!
3.) Dance
Do you love to dance and have a good time no matter what you look like? Then start a dance party with the kids. As long as you’re moving on the other end, they’ll think it’s fun.
If you have a remote for a portable speaker, I’d encourage you to play a game of freeze dance. The kids should hook up their phone or computer to an external speaker too so the music is loud enough to hear.
4.) I Spy
One of my favorite games to play on a walk or driving in the car is I Spy . You’re reinforcing colors and bringing attention to their surroundings. It’s a great game for kids!
So why not sit down and play it via FaceTime or Skype? Walk to other rooms every so often so you both get a change of scenery and different things to spy.
5.) Peek A Boo
For really small children, it’s always a must to make them laugh. Popping your face on and off screen, covering yourself with blankets, towels, pillows, etc and playing peek-a-boo is a must try if you’re a long distance Aunt.
You don’t have to do it for a long time, I know the game gets a little repetitive, but it’s also addictive once you start hearing your niblings giggle.
6.) Play Cards
Yes, you read that right. Nothing has to be perfect in order to have fun. I recently sat down with my niece and we played an adapted version of Go Fish via FaceTime. We both had a deck of cards which we dealt ourselves. If either of us had the card we were asking for, we took it out of our hand and put it in a separate pile.
It was fun and funny because we were totally making it up as we went along. Try it!
7.) Read them a story
I let my nieces and nephews leave things in my home so that when they come to visit they have toys to play with. It’s good to have a few children’s books on the shelf for bedtime stories too.
If you’re unsure if this is for you, you could always take one out of the library to test this out. But if the kids are snuggled in bed and relaxing, your voice and the pictures from a book should definitely hold their attention.
8.) Help With Homework
Depending on their age, homework can get a little complicated, especially with the common core math that everyone seems to have a bit of trouble with. I know this is weird to say, but it’s also the truth. I enjoyed homework when I was a kid. There, now it’s out there.
I encourage my niece to call me if she needs some help and Mommy or Nonna is busy with other things. Sometimes I need to see what she sees in order to help though, so that’s where FaceTime really helps. If you’re a homework dork like me, I’d suggest being their homework buddy.
9.) Birthday Celebrations
It doesn’t matter if we’re out to dinner or at home, well all FaceTime to sing Happy Birthday. It’s so hard to not be able to make it to every birthday, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the entire celebration.
I know my family can go a little overboard, but there has been more than one occasion when I’ve FaceTimed them as a virtual guest. My sister walks around with me in her hand and introduces me to everyone. It’s actually pretty fun. I dare you to try it!
10.) Voice Texts At Bedtime
As much as I love FaceTime, I know that it can get a little overwhelming at times too, especially around bedtime. Still, your phone is your friend and there to help you give them a virtual tuck in with a voice text.
I say to them exactly what I would say if they were at my house sleeping over, “Goodnight my shrimps. I love you.” I don’t do it every night, but I do it a lot. Have a talk with your nibling’s parents just so that they know you’re gonna send a voice text at night. It’s a great way to let them know you’re thinking of them and it’s a virtual long-distance kiss goodnight.
Do you feel like you can tackle this long distance Aunt thing now? I know I haven’t covered it all, but these are just some fun ways that I’ve come up with to bond with my niblings from far away and it worked!
Do you have some other ways you’ve managed to bond long distance? Let me know if the comments below!
If you like this post, you might also want to check out The 5 Smartphone Apps Every Cool Aunt Needs.
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Nice suggestions! I think the “I Spy” one may work best with my four very active niblings. Thanks!