GUIDE

Helping grandparents see photos and videos of the grandkids

When grandparents struggle with phones, apps, or shared albums, here is how to make it easy for them to keep up with the kids.

My dad still uses a flip phone. How can he see the baby photos the rest of the family shares?Work with the screens he already has instead of pushing a new phone. Send one photo at a time as a regular text and see what comes through, use a computer or TV at his house for bigger batches, and mail a few prints each month. Many people his age live without a smartphone.
Every new way of sharing photos needs setting up, and I live too far to show my mom. How do I help from here?Stop switching methods: choose one way to share photos and stay with it. Then teach it from a distance with a screen recording of your own phone doing each step, which she can replay as often as she likes, plus a printed card by her phone. Save anything that needs her passwords for an in-person visit.
Our toddler grandson wanders off a minute into every video call. What can we actually do on camera to keep him interested?Stop trying to keep him in front of the screen and give him something to answer: wave, play peekaboo, copy what he does, show him a real object. Ask a parent to carry the phone after him when he moves, and end the call while it is still fun. A few good minutes count as a successful call.