Grandparents are always embraced and loved by baby boomers. Some people may have already moved across the country to be close to their grandchildren. Others may try to bridge distances through video calls, FaceTime, or even Skype. Others do fun activities with their grandkids like yoga, going out, among other things.

A lot of grandparents were quite confident they could do it all before the coronavirus pandemic happened. Therefore, with the new threats from this pandemic, people have been forced to come up with new solutions that are suitable and acceptable during this trying time.

The question that most grandparents are asking themselves is whether they can spend time safely with their grandkids, or even help their adult children deal with childcare.

Here's my Grandma's 2cents and tips to y'all out there...

Can I Spend Time with My Grandchildren during the COVID-19?

One crucial thing that you need to be aware of is that older people are severely affected by COVID-19 compared to young people. According to Claire McCarthy, a pediatrician at the Boston Children's Hospital and Faculty editor for the Harvard Health Publishing, children are known to spread germs, which can be a greater risk for you.

McCarthy believes that grandparents need to be extremely cautious, and that includes avoiding doing childcare, as that poses a massive risk for them. Although it is sad and quite hard, it is highly recommended for grandparents to isolate themselves if they want to remain safe and eliminate exposure from the coronavirus.

Naturally, everyone wants to be with family during times of crisis. But, in this kind of crisis, families are highly advised to think otherwise, and that involves isolating grandparents.

You can check out the Resource Center for Coronavirus to learn more about the spreading of the virus, various ways you can protect yourself, and the people who are at a higher risk of getting ill from the disease.

How to Stay Connected with Families and Help Them

The health recommendation for the public is to practice social distancing. Still, a lot of grandparents are asking questions such as what they can do to stay connected with their grandkids. And how they can help their parents who are working from home cope with their children at home. There is an important role that grandparents can play so as to help their grandkids stay busy, thereby creating time for their parents to effectively work at home.

How to Stay Connected

Grandparents who live a bit far tend to be familiar with Skype, video calls, and even FaceTime to help stay connected with their grandkids. However, if you haven't yet developed these skills, you can try and do so as soon as possible to help keep in touch with your loved ones. Below are some of the ways you can stay connected with your grandkids during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Create a daily meet-up online through video call, Skype, or FaceTime to do fun activities such as singing, talking, teaching your grandkids fun stuff like drawing or learning letters, among other cool stuff. When you begin with this, you will end up having other great ideas to share with your grandkids.
• Create daily or weekly time for cousins to meet online, and you can tell them a story, read them a book, and conduct other fun activities with them. You will be surprised how such a bonding event will greatly impact the lives of the young ones.
• You can consider breaking bread together. A good example is a grandparent I know who cooks for her adult daughter and takes the food to her outside at a safe distance. She then goes back home and gets online to have a virtual meal time with her daughter and the grandchildren.
• Talk to your children as much as possible and learn about their daily routines. Find out what they like and dislike, as well as what they may need help with once this pandemic is over. This might be a great way to get the bond stronger and spend time with your children and grandchildren once things go back to normal again.

What You Can Do to Help Your Children

Here are some of the best tips to consider about helping your children:

• Try freeing up time for the parents by regularly chatting with your grandkids. This not only helps your adult children, but it also helps you to stay connected with your grandchildren. They will truly treasure the opportunity to interact with their grandparents, whereby they can benefit from your wisdom and experience.
• Consider helping them financially – You can also consider supporting your family financially if you can since this pandemic has made a lot of people lose their jobs and expense rise due to the sudden pandemic. This will greatly cushion your loved ones from the financial stress that comes along with a pandemic. They will have time to think about more important things, such as staying safe at home.
• You can also consider inviting all your grandchildren for a virtual celebration in case of any holiday or birthday. You will have had your celebration without risking getting any infections. You will be surprised at how much this would mean to your loved ones; they will treasure the fact that they did not miss out on a special occasion despite being in isolation. Using technology to virtually celebrate is a brilliant idea that should be embraced by everyone.

As grandparents, we pride ourselves on the energy, love, youthfulness, and creativity that we offer to our grandkids. The current pandemic may temporarily change the way we do things with our grandchildren, but that doesn’t mean that it limits us ultimately. There are many ways to get past these limitations, and make sure we are connected to them in one way or the other. Even though the main concern at this day and age is to ensure that we are safe from contracting this disease, it is also key that we maintain great relations with out loved ones. Our grandkids should continue to enjoy the company of their grandparents.