Linda Drake, shown at home in Denver with her dog Beto, uses her laptop to have a video call with her granddaughter Colleen Drake, 12, who lives in Arlington, Va. Drake texts regularly with her six grandchildren, who are ages 10 to 15. (Dustin Bradford/For The Washington Post)
by Nora Krug | The Washington Post
“Like a lot of grandmothers, Sheri Williams doesn’t get to visit her grandchildren as often as she’d like. In part, that’s because she has a full-time job and nine grandchildren spread across several time zones. The youngest one lives in Arlington, Va.; the oldest lives in Hawaii. “I can’t just drive down the street,” she says.
“Instead, Williams, a 63-year-old medical administrator in Springfield, Ill., relies on technology to get a virtual dose of kisses, hugs and updates. She checks Facebook for the latest photos and family news, and shares milestones (and endures tantrums) with her 14-month-old grandson in Arlington, via Skype. For her, the interaction is almost as good as it is in person. “I get to say, ‘Hey, buddy,’ and see him break out in a smile,” she says.
” Although most grandparents still communicate with their grandchildren by phone, evidence suggests that a growing number of them — baby boomers, especially — are turning to online tools to connect.”
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