How To Help Your Kids Maintain Relationships While Living Abroad as a Single Parent

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While living abroad as a single parent I had to actively help my son maintain relationships with faraway loved ones. When we lived in California near my parents we could be found at the beach every Sunday morning with my mom and nephew. We’d have coffee while the boys played in the sand and watched sail boats pass through the harbor. Then when my son was two, I chose to pursue a professional opportunity and we moved from California to Texas. Later when we were based in Croatia with a significant time difference I learned to be even more intentional about helping my son connect with family back in the states. 

My son is very close to his grandparents, cousin and auntie. Our big moves have been hard for him. It was clear he intensely felt the loss of their almost daily presence in his life. Over time I learned ways to help him cope and nurture those relationships from a distance. 

With COVID pandemic rates higher than ever, many families are feeling the strain of long distance relationships with their loved ones due to social distancing. Below are our top tips for helping kids stay in touch with long distance friends and family.

Our Top Tips To Help Kids Maintain Relationships While Living Abroad as a Single Parent

1. Keep up relationships with loved ones. The first thing to note about relationships is that they come and go. Lifelong friends are something to be cherished. Thankfully, due to technology, we can now immediately communicate with our close friends and family throughout the world. My son speaks on FaceTime with his grandparents at least once per week. We also try to see them for longer visits at least twice per year. 
2. I make personal holiday cards every year and snail mail them out to about 75 friends and family members in my contact list. Living abroad as a single parent its important to me to maintain connections with an ever more global network. This annual practice helps me check-in and see which relationships I might be neglecting.
3. Sending mail pen-pal style can be a great way for kids to keep in contact with their friends as well. It can be hard for them to focus on the screen during a FaceTime session, so drawing pictures, writing letters, or making crafts for friends can be a fun and more personalized way to connect. 
4. Use educational apps or play games that can be interactive on both sides such as
5. Read to kids over the phone with an app or paperback 
6. Have kids make notes of things they want to share with long distance family members
7. Record birthday and holiday messages
8. Share photos with Family Album app
9. Send handwritten letters. Younger kids can draw or paint a picture
10.  Send each other crafts, letters, anything then have a FaceTime meeting to watch each other open the special items.
11. Don’t be afraid to reach out yourself, your young children aren’t setting up FaceTime meetings themselves, you will have to connect with parents of your children’s friends.

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