Keeping in touch with your family, especially the oldest people, is difficult with the confinement that forces you to stay at home. In addition, visits to establishments housing the elderly are now prohibited to protect them from the risks associated with the coronavirus, and not all grandparents are equipped with a computer or a smartphone to watch their grandchildren grow up!

The severance of the link between the elderly and their family, especially children, can have significant consequences, particularly at the psychological level.

Even if they are still young and active, grandparents are not coping well with this confinement period, depriving them of visits from their children and grandchildren. So here are some original and fun ways to let them know and enrich relationships with them, even from a distance!

Smartphones, computers, and tablets; popular allies

Of course, the new generations are very well equipped and very comfortable with smartphones, computers, and tablets. However, on the side of our elders, this is not always the case. Therefore, they are popular and effective allies insofar as grandparents know how to use them.

These devices allow you to communicate with your loved ones instantly, efficiently, and above all, for free. These video calls are possible with smartphones, tablets, or computers equipped with cameras and microphones. Thanks to these communication tools, you can call your loved ones or use applications such as FaceTime on the App Store, WhatsApp, or Messenger on Facebook; these are the easiest applications to use. There is also Skype or Hangouts on Google. These applications and software make you feel like you are next to your family and friends while respecting confinement.

Video games to keep in touch

Containment has pushed many people to turn to video games and even seniors. In England, 20% of grandparents have taken up video games to keep in touch with their grandchildren. An excellent way to not feel isolated while respecting social distancing.

According to the results of the study, 42% of Britons aged 55 to 64, as well as 27% of those over 65, have played video games in the last five years, focusing more on the logic games like puzzles, cards, and games by arrangement. For 40% of 39-54 year olds, online games have been more useful for keeping in touch with their children during this period. While 40% of players over 60 said they had played strategy games such as Sudoku, chess, bridge during confinement "to keep the brain in top shape" while respecting social distancing.

Record videos

Making video calls seems complicated to you with your grandparents? No worries, you also have the option of recording videos in advance for your loved ones. You can do it for important events like a birthday, Christmas or just to give news. You can record funny videos, videos of you singing, dancing or playing an instrument. An effective technique to restore the smile and warm the hearts of your grandparents.

Write each other letters

If you're not a big fan of computers, you can always ask your grandchildren and ask them to write you a letter, a poem or a note, then send it by post! True, the courier may take longer to reach your home, but it will arrive.

Send them small gifts

Because we never spoil them enough, we don't wait for Christmas or Grandma's Day to show them our unconditional love. In the absence of being able to see them, we take advantage of the fact of having to stay at home to send them little attention by post: a homemade package in which you slip the coloring and crafts of their grandchildren or homemade cupcakes, a bouquet of pretty flowers that will brighten up their empty house, or even an original small gift to show them that even from a distance, you are thinking of them. An online store has many gifts that your grandparents are sure to like; a personalized salted butter caramel scented candle, magnets with the words "grandpa forever" or "grandma's love," or even a printed ceramic mug. Admittedly a bit cliché, but so cute that we inevitably fall for it!