20 LDR Parent & Child Activities – Part 1

20 LDR Parent & Child Activities – Part 1

Being away from your loved ones is hard. Everyone knows that. But being away from your beloved children? It can feel like ripping out a piece of your heart. We love our children and when circumstances take us away from them, we may worry about how to be a part of their lives during our time away. Fortunately, in this modern age there are so many resources available that we can use to stay connected to our kids.

1. Art Project

Art allows your children to use their imagination and they will love being able to create something.

There are many ways that you can complete an art project with them. You can coordinate with your partner and have them pick up the materials for your child, or you can mail the materials to them. And you can pick up the materials on your end as well.

Once you both have everything you need, you can pick a date and time to Skype and complete the project together. Depending on the age of your child, it can be anything from artistic paper airplanes to felt flowers.

2. Treasure Hunt

This is an especially fun one that your child will love. You can hide little surprises around the house before you go. After you leave, call them and give them the first clue. This is a great way to ease the initial pain of separation for your child.

It will also be a great way to let your child know that the distance doesn’t mean that the fun stops. Alternately, if you have already left, you can work with your partner to plan a treasure hunt for your child. They can hide the clues for you and you can still surprise your child with a fun treasure hunt.

3. Gift Clues

Gift clues are fun. There are two things children love, gifts and games. And gift clues are a great way to combine the two. There are many ways you can do this, for example, you could leave a small bold word clue in every letter before the gift you’re sending them.

Work with someone who is near your child to create a detailed gift clue hunt together.

4. Riddles

Riddles are so irresistible for some reason. Even for us adults. If you’re having trouble connecting with your child or perhaps they have a very short attention span, riddles are a great way to build anticipation for your next Skype call.

After discussing their day and how they’re doing, leave them with a riddle before you say goodbye. Tell them you’ll give them the answer next time. Your child will love this and look forward to these riddles.

5. Show and Tell

When you’re close to your little one, they love running up to you and saying “Mommy, daddy look at this!” Children love to proudly show their parents things.

Whether it’s a piece of artwork, a new toy, or a roly poly, they want to share it with you. Being far apart doesn’t mean you have to miss out on sharing your child’s excitement. You can have a show and tell every week, two weeks, or month. It will be a time for your child to show you something interesting that they’re excited about.

6. Story Time

Story time is such a big deal to kids. It’s such an important bonding experience for them. They feel a deep sense of loss when story time is completely taken away from them. So fight for this one LDR parents!

Don’t let distance stop you from having story time with your little one. You can do it via Skype or even record a few videos of you reading them stories.

7. Cooking Class

Children love cooking with their parents. Feeling like they can do something like the parent they adore makes their little hearts glow. Being far away doesn’t mean you can’t teach your little one a family recipe.

You could make a cooking class video for them. Record a video of you instructing them how to make something. You could even make it doubly fun by having them respond with a video of them (and a responsible adult) making it.

8. Karaoke Night

Most children love to sing and it’s a fun family activity that you can do together even if you’re in different locations. You can have a karaoke night using Skype or you can even do it on the phone.

Pick a few of your child’s favorite songs to sing or introduce them to some new ones you can learn together. Maybe even turn into an adorable competition between you and your child, or siblings against siblings.

9. Game Night

Since children love games, of course they loooove game night. Thanks to technology, there are many ways to play games with your kids. You can use Facebook, Cell phone apps, etc…

And of course the amount of games you can play together online are endless. Whether it’s Uno, Words With Friends or Checkers, there are so many games you can fill your game night with.

10. Family Movie Night

An easy way to bond with your kids from a distance is by having a family movie night. There are many sites available that let you watch movies together in real time like rabb.it for example. You can watch one of your little one’s favorite movies or even watch an episode of an entertaining family show together.

These are just 10 of the 20 ways you can stay connected to your kids, so tune in next week for the rest!