12 Ways to Share Your Growing Kid’s Milestones With Faraway Family

There's no denying the little kid years are sweet and wholly exciting. Your child is literally growing and changing before your eyes. Many of us live far away from family members and want to share those moments of growth and change with our faraway loved ones. After all, it's the milestone moments that bond families together, no matter the distance.

Luckily, technology has made it way easier to stay connected than it ever has before. Video chatting is awesome and sharing photos has never been easier. Kids grow fast, and grandparents can now stay in tune with every milestone, growth spurt, and lost tooth.

We've got 12 great ideas for making the distance disappear — and for making sure your kid isn't just growing before your eyes, but in front of their relatives' too. No matter how far away they are.

Instant Access

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"I gave my mother-in-law access to my account on the website where I do all my photo books. Now she has instant access to all the pictures of my kids and can make books whenever she wants to. She makes a LOT of books. And does she ever use pictures of me? No. But that is a whole other thing." — Becky T., St. Louis, Missouri

Blog About It

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"We have a password-protected family blog. We use it to post pictures, videos, and little updates about the kids' growth and development. My daughter is even starting to write her own posts. (We do the typing since she can't actually spell yet.) She gets excited about seeing comments from Grandma or Aunt Joan." — Isabelle T., Toledo, Ohio

Postcard Pics

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"I have an app on my phone that lets me send pictures as postcards. Super easy and my family loves getting cute pictures of my growing kid in the mail." — Jessie K., Fridley, Minnesota

Send a Snap

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"My 4-year-old HATES having her picture taken, which is a total bummer for my parents, who always want fresh pictures. We've discovered that my kid loves to Snapchat though because she loves all the crazy filters, such as looking like a puppy. Now she sends my mom pictures almost every day, which means talking my parents into a smartphone was totally worth it." — Miranda C., Saint Paul, Minnesota

Art Delivery

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"My grandparents live in another state. My daughter is their only great-grandchild, so they want to be a part of her life and to feel like they know her. They aren't online or smartphone users, so we go old-school and write letters or talk on the phone. What they really like is when we send them my daughter's artwork because we usually include a sticky note about where she made it or what it is." — Joyce C., Rochester, New York

Face to Face

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"My kids do so much better with video chats than on the phone. We live overseas, so staying in touch is an ongoing thing. My 2-year-old is good for, like, hello and goodbye on the phone, but with video he'll hang out or show them his new toys. Much easier to interact." — Renee H., Seoul, South Korea

Family Book Club

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"We have a family book club! My parents send each of the grandkids (there are four of them, all under the age of 6) the same book each month. Then we do a group hangout session online and the kids talk about the book. It is a sweet tradition and the kids like it when the new 'cousin book' arrives." — Frannie D., Albany, New York

Cousin Connection

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"My sister and I are super close even though we live in different states. We each have a little girl and are 'one and done' in terms of kids, so we want them to be close. We do a lot of little things to build the connection — lots of FaceTime, sending pictures, all that. I also send all of my daughter's hand-me-down clothes to her cousin when she outgrows them. And we plan girl weekends three times a year." — Tina C., San Jose, California

Old-School Connections

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"Capitalize on the fact that kids love to get mail! My son is pen pals with his grandpa and he knows that he only gets mail if he writes back, so he is good about it. It also lets him practice his letters and handwriting too!" — Hillary D., Saint Paul, Minnesota

Make an Investment

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"The last time my mom visited, we bought her a tablet and spent a day loading in apps and teaching her how to use them. The investment in time (and frustration! She's not the most tech savvy) was so worth it. Now she and our 4-year-old call each other without our having to set it up. They are online buddies." — Grace P., San Francisco, California

Breakfast Date

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"My sister-in-law is a very doting aunt and my daughter adores her. They have a standing breakfast date on Tuesday mornings. They might be 700 miles apart, but they chat and eat their toast together like they are in the same room." — Denise F., Houston, Texas

Special Delivery

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"We have a cool thing — the monthly package round robin. Every month we take turns starting a box. We fill it with kid art work, notes, copies of recipes we liked, books we want to pass on. If I'm doing it, I send it to my sister and then she adds things (or snags the book!) and then sends to our mom or my cousin Keri, who sends it someone else. There are eight of us who do it, so it is always fun to see what comes." — Sarah F., Page, Arizona