FaceTime Fridays: Keeping Grandkids Close

FaceTime Fridays: Keeping Grandkids Close

A weekly video call can build powerful bonds between seniors and grandkids—no script, no pressure, just connection.

There’s a moment, right after the call connects, when everything softens.

The screen flickers. The sound takes a second to catch up. And then: a small face appears. Wiggly, laughing, maybe holding a juice box sideways. On the other side, a slower smile. A voice that says, “Well, hello, there you are.”

They don’t need a plan. They don’t need to say much. The moment is everything.

We call it FaceTime Fridays, but it doesn’t have to be Friday. It just has to happen. Once a week is fine. Every other week works too. Set the expectation and the rhythm. Kids like routine, and truthfully, so do most grown-ups.

It’s not complicated. The call comes through. One picks up. The other grins. You’re off and running.

It’s Not the Tech That’s the Problem

Some people still get stuck at the setup. They think it’s the technology that’s hard. But it isn’t. It’s the hesitation. The self-consciousness. The idea that a screen is somehow less real than a kitchen table.

But it works. The screen works. Not perfectly, not always smoothly. But it connects. And that’s what matters.

Sometimes a staff member helps. Sometimes a daughter sets up the iPad and walks away. Sometimes the grandparent knows precisely what to do, but likes pretending they don’t, so they get an extra minute of tech support and chit-chat.

Either way, the moment lands. That’s the part to hold onto.

Keep It Light

You don’t need a theme. You don’t need crafts or scavenger hunts or “talking points.” This isn’t a project, and it’s not homework. The whole idea is to stay visible to one another. To build something that feels like presence, even when it’s not physical.

Some days they’ll talk about books. Other times, it’s just a quick wave, or the child shows off their lunchbox. One day, it might be five minutes of knock-knock jokes. The next ten quiet seconds and “I love you.”

Let that be enough.

Memory Isn’t Required

Even if your parent is in memory care, and even if they won’t remember the call ten minutes later, that doesn’t mean the call wasn’t worth it.

They remember the feeling. The warmth. The sound of the child’s voice. The kindness of the gesture. And the child? They remember that their grandparent was worth calling.

Some families find it helps to record a short video instead. A birthday message, a song, a silly story. It provides staff with a reference point when needed. And it gives the child something to create and send, which is a connection all its own.

What FaceTime Friday Really Is

FaceTime Fridays isn’t a program. It’s a thread.

You’re not making a big deal out of it. You’re just letting two people stay in each other’s lives. Not just for birthdays or holidays, but for the small, quiet moments that make a relationship feel real.

And yes, the call drops sometimes. Or the audio lags. Or someone forgets it’s Friday. But that’s fine. That’s human.

The point is: they keep showing up.

The connection is what the child will remember years from now. There was a grandparent who smiled when they saw their face and said, “Look how big you’re getting.” A family member who didn’t need anything from them but time.

That connection is what the grandparent remembers too, in their own way: a grandchild’s voice coming through the noise of the day, reminding them they are still known.