How to keep in touch with long distance family members

Sometime it can be hard to maintain a smooth relation with our family member when they are in another state or country. Take a initiative with enthusiasm and zeal to connect with them. This article has few simple steps for staying in touch with them.

Introduction

Sometime you attach or create a bonding with a family member or any closed one. But this relation fades away when they move to another state or might be in a different country. Though you get lonely without them, but hesitate to connect virtually. The following steps will surely help you to reconnect with your family members.

Steps

Write informal letters

This is one of the easiest and oldest form of communication. By writing letters you can easily keep in touch without having talked to them for long periods of time. Exchanging letters every week or month is a kind of fun and unique activity as well. This is the best way to keep in touch with older members, especially those who don't know much about modern technology. This is also convenient, so you can refer back to the old letters whenever you want to recall. Letters are excellent to provide you some personal touch if the writer uses different color of ink, design, handwriting, etc. Letter is useful for those interested in recording family histories and save them for future generations. It is always a special meaning if you get a handwritten letter from a family member on a special occasion like birthday, new year, Diwali etc. Because they know you better than anyone else, write us in such an informal way like you are talking to them in person. If you have children, always encourage them to draw a picture or write their own letter to be included with your letter.

Write emails

Emails are nothing but the modern form of letters. Instead of writing a letter using pen and paper, you can write the same over electronic media. It's much easier to send because here we do not need to post the latter and take time to reach to the destination. Email is free of cost and takes no time to reach the other's inbox. It's more effective, time saving and economical.

Make use of mobile phone

If you do not have their current number, you can ask them for it through social sites like Facebook, Tweeter, Skype or ask another relative. Contact with them by calling now and then to catch up. It is a good way to keep in contact. Hearing the voices of each other makes conversations more realistic, touching and it can bring family members together. But it is more difficult to have a phone conversation when you are in different time zones, so in that case leaving a string of voicemails, or SMS conversation is more suitable. It's a better way without hesitating to contact with them.

Connect them on social media

Nowadays, more families and friends are connected with each other than before on social media sites, especially Facebook, Tweeter, Skype, etc. It is the easiest way to stay connected with your family member and friends all the time when you are far away from them. Write statuses, upload pictures, home videos so anyone can be updated with anything new or important in your life. First try to find out what your family member was already in social media. Request them to add. You can also send a request to another member, for joining social sites.

Communicate using instant chatting, voice calling services

For continuous communication, you can install various apps services for your PC, Android/iPhone mobile. Ready to install various instant messaging services like: WhatsApp, Hike, etc. Not only messaging using those apps you can able to establish voice calling as well. Set a time to connect and chat, voice calling to them.

Connect with video calling services

Skype, IMO or Google Hangout are easy to use and more familiar for video calling. Video calling is the latest way of communication to keep up with people who are far away from you. It's also very interesting to see your close one live, every day, every time. You can identify how their looks change over time.

Send out email updates

If you are busy for personal conversations with each and every family member, it is easy enough to send out automatic email updates to relatives. For that, simply give a few details about your recent news. Some family members will do the same with you too.

Send out cards for any celebration or holiday

Posting some pictures and cards for major holidays and/or celebration is a wonderful way to keep up to date with family members and relatives, even they far away. Many of them will send these out to you as well, so that every member can stay connected with each other.

Send gift or care packages

Look for some special or unique gifts in your state or country that your family would not familiar with their area. Fill a box full of those things, pack them and courier it to your member. You can also choose so many attractive gifts for all ages from e-commerce sites like: Flipkart, Amazon or Snapdeal etc. and send them to the address of your family members. This is very efficient and popular choosing for parents to send their college children whom can make a request for homemade, mouth watering snacks and sweets.

Stop living in the past and talk about the present and future

As member grow up, their characteristics and behaviors change over time. Instead of having a perception or view of a family member of what they used to be or act like in the past, look at them of what they are now, or in the future. Connect each of them as per their age. Talk with them over career paths, education, professional life, extended families, or other life changing moments. Do not go into much about their personal life.

Keep in touch with their pets too

After all pets are also a part of the family. Send some dog treats or dognip for the pet as a part of celebration gift.

Tips

Always make note of the time-zones. Even half an hour off makes a significant difference. Job, school, sleep, food habit and other important daily factors can impact immediate communication time
If you choose an email form of communication, do not get annoyed or angry if they do not check it as much as you would like
It is not necessary to talk to your family member very often- every few days, months or year may suffice for long distance relatives. But whenever you do so it should be warm. Your parent or siblings must want to keep in touch more, though

Comments

Guest Author: Sonu24 Mar 2016

The author has given useful tips for keeping in touch with family members, relatives and friends who are away, though writing formal letters has become almost defunct these days. Barring immediate family members like children, siblings and parents etc. , the relationships thrive on give and take basis. There has to be something common among the people to continue the relationship. Nowadays social sites like Facebook is a good means to keep the immediate social circle updated about the latest happenings. However intermittently voice or video chats should be carried out. The people who have migrated to other places are generally smarter and therefore they become generally selective in maintaining relationships. However wishing on birthdays, anniversary, sending e-cards on all festivals and other appropriate occasions etc. helps in maintaining relationships. In case the economic status is matching then there are more chances of continuing relationships for longer periods. There are certain people in the society who try to develop relationships from selfish point of view. For such people chances of continuing relationships for longer periods with an individual residing at distant places becomes even more challenging as they get exposed soon.

Guest Author: Sonu24 Mar 2016

Relationship can be maintained with openness and we must have open heart to acknowledge the the greatness of the relatives with whom we are interested to nurture the relationship. We have to accept a strange fact that there is always liking for some of the distance relationship but there is absence of communication for a prolonged period because of preoccupation of some assignment or the other.
So, such relationship has to be strengthened with different modes of communication especially when there a development of good news on the other side such as grand success in the examination of the Son or Daughter of the relative or there is celebration of other auspicious moment. Such gesture would go a long way in nurturing the weak relationship.
Relationship does not mean to keep the other party stressed with constant undue demands but there should be reflection of warmth, recognition of benevolence and other humane qualities. If we are good at hearts and prudent enough to appreciate the emotions of other parties, this would add new dimension to the relationship.

Guest Author: vikash kumar24 Mar 2016

I appreciate the author for this article which stress the need to maintain contacts with the long distance relatives and family members. In fact I always make my habit to be in touch with those who are always away from us and yet remembering us. Every one has the compulsion to part with the family and live in those areas for the sake of jobs or for some other purpose. Gone are the days when we used to have contacts through post mails. Now the technology has changed and people can have contacts on social media, e mails and even telephone. By sending gifts and surprise materials to those living far, will bring close rapport with them and the relations shall blossom for ever. If possible children must be introduced to long distance relatives and family members by paying a visit to place so that children would also remember them. One more thing I have seen people informing about bad news only when ever they contact the relatives or friends living far off. That must be avoided , as even normal happenings should be shared so that more closeness can be inculcated and cherished.

Guest Author: 26 Feb 2017

Using apps, instant chatting, video calling, video conferencing are some of the tools to keep in touch.Some elderly people who do not use tools should be kept in touch by inviting them on occasions, ordinary phone calls or sending greetings by courier on special occasions.

Author: Dr N V Srinivasa Rao15 Feb 2023 Member Level: Gold Points : 1

A good article from the author. He has given all possible ways to keep in touch with our friends and relatives who are in far way place from us.

In earlier days, it was very difficult to contact a person who is living at a different place. Communication was very difficult. Many people used to be in contact though postal letters and telegrams only. Only some rich people used to have telephones. But now we have many ways to contact them.

Internet brought the concept of global village. Smartphones made calling others on phone made easy. Social media brought many conveniences. If we utilize all of the properly it is very easy to be in contact with others. We should spare sometime and make voice calls or video calls to the people and talk to them. These days there is no problem contacting even people who are abroad through WhatsApp voice calls or video calls also.