Maintaining the link between the grandparents and grandchildren is a must. For several months now, we have been living through an unprecedented period: the Covid-19 has entered our daily lives, shaking up our way of life and our habits, all generations combined. Faced with the health crisis, senior citizens are particularly at much more risk, and therefore at much more risk of feeling isolated or even left alone.
This is all natural as the elders are separated from their loved ones, and more particularly from their grandchildren, whom they can no longer kiss and hug … A situation that is often very difficult for many of them. Fortunately, the date of deconfinement is fast approaching and living conditions will gradually improve. But, in the meantime, how to maintain the link between the grandparents and grandchildren?
Grandparents and grandchildren: a special bond
Grandparents, sometimes even great-grandparents, occupy an important place in the lives of grandchildren. The supporting pillars of family history, grandpa and grandma have forged a unique bond with their descendants. True emotional landmark; grandparents accompany their grandchildren with kindness but also less authority than their parents. A relationship often marked by great complicity but also by the transmission of values, love and knowledge.
Moreover, based on their experience, grandparents also have the advantage of living in another time, of being freed from the stress that working parents undergo on a daily basis. Not having their grandchildren every day and not being in a hurry, they are more available and more patient in teaching them everyday skills, like tying the laces on their shoes or buttoning their coat.
Normally, many grandparents maintain a sustained relationship with their grandchildren. When they are lucky enough to be geographically close, they pick them up from school, babysit them on Wednesdays and take care of them when they are sick. In other words, a real support for working parents.
For now, the health crisis is forcing the elderly, vulnerable to the Corona virus, to protect themselves from external contact. Separated from young children for several months, the wait is long and difficult. Will they be able to see them again soon? We hope so … with great care, wearing a mask and applying barrier gestures. Until then, you have to take the necessary precautions. In addition, you can benefit from some other safe ways to make it happen for the grandparents to keep their bonding with their loved grandchildren.
The importance of maintaining the link between the grandparents and grandchildren
More or less the current confinement is a test for each of us, and especially for seniors. Alone or as a couple, in a retirement home or at home, in good health or ill, isolation remains a test. Breaking the family bond can have serious consequences, both physically and mentally. Hence, it is vital to find alternatives in order to fight against this forced separation.
There are many easy ways for to stay in touch
- A classic postal mail: If the habit is lost among the younger generations, writing a letter to tell about their day, make a drawing to hang and send it all to grandparents can undoubtedly make them smile!
- A phone call: An easy solution that allows you to chat with pleasure and hear the voices of those you love.
- An email: Sending a short message without forgetting to attach the photos of the day offers the pleasure of an almost instantaneous link!
- A videoconference: For grandparents connected and equipped with a webcam, a smart phone or a tablet, applications such as Skype, Zoom or Face Time allow them to have the joy of seeing each other at last!
As for the grandparents, they should not be left out and compete in their imagination to maintain the link. Here are some ideas to surprise your grandchildren:
- Record and send a story to for your grandchildren to listen to in the evening before going to sleep in order totake part in the bedtime ritual for the little ones,
- Send coloring pages and little sweet words by mail,
- Prepare a package with a book, a jar of homemade jam or even a piece of clothing,
- Make a simple cooking recipe by videoconference,
- Send a voice message, an SMS or an email to suggest an activity, solve a riddle or share a historical fact,
- Communicate via social networks,
- Make a simple phone call to get news because it’s simple and efficient!
It’s up to everyone to find the way to communicate that suits them to maintain the family bond. The separation will be that much easier on both sides.
Let’s meet under some circumstances
One thing is certain, isolation weighs particularly heavily on seniors. Far from their grandchildren and loved ones, morale is low and psychological repercussions are lurking: it is urgent to reconnect. Thus, it will be possible to visit the family while respecting several conditions
Home visit
The visits should be surrounded by several precautions. The custody of grandchildren is still risky because we do not yet know all the limits of contagion in children. Wearing a mask and practicing barrier gestures are essential. This is the price to pay to meet the grandchildren as soon as possible.
So how to maintain the link at all costs with the grandchildren in this health crisis? grandfather and grandmother, if they can, must be inventive and find new forms of intergenerational communication. While waiting for a real reunion and making up for lost time for the greatest happiness of all!