siblings living far apart

Lifestyle Relationships
21

Re: siblings living far apart

visited my cousins and khalas often while growing up and went to karachi to see grandparnts. thus, we are very close knit.

i whatsapp with my cousins, skype with them and call my mamu and khalas almost every day. speak on the phone with nana nani.

i think kids can get to know each other better if they meet at least once a yr and then see each other via skype.

22

Re: siblings living far apart

my sister moved to pakistan about 14 months back, after she got married. We generally keep in touch via facebook, but moreso via Whatsapp.. its a little more convenient and i can see when she's been online and get in touch straight away

in terms of kids... as long as you keep talking to them about their relatives, they will be aware of them... I always keep munchkin upto date with Khala news and her bubba's news. Munchkin is quite aware of who her "blood" khala is as opposed to some of my friends she knows by "khala" too :)

23

Re: siblings living far apart

I have not seen my bro in last 5 years but we are in touch on phone/facebook

My sis in laws (4 in all) are spread all over the continents and unless they plan to meet in Pakistan its almost next to impossible. They also use phone (vonage with 60+ countries unlimited) and Skype

24

Re: siblings living far apart

skype and facetime

I let them text each other.

Tell them lots of stories in daily conversation about growing up together. I think it helps.

25

Re: siblings living far apart

share best practices? haha! good one! Everything in life is a business, isn't it?

I see you are asking two questions although they appear to be one but in truth they are not.

1) what do you do to stay engaged in each others' lives, assuming you dont get to see each other more than once or twice a year?

Use every available medium but most importantly, if you are looking forward to get engaged in others life out of care as a relative, it's better to find out what's their most common medium of usage. Like many said, Facebook or Skype here. Media of such nature can be utlized. A weekly, biweekly or a monthly call is also a good idea and can serve the purpose two-fold in answer to the second question.

2) how do you get your kids to know their uncle/aunt, and their cousins?

As mentioned above, a conversation over the phone call can be a great tool. Additionally, encourage your kids to use social media to get in touch with their cousins. If they are of similar age, you will see it will do wonders especially if they get to see each other once or twice a year.

There could be many more other ways but that all depends on multiple factors, such as people, their personality and nature, how caring people are for each other and more importantly if the proper values are taught to the children at both ends.

26

Re: siblings living far apart

Excellent question.

  1. Of course birthday/special events calls.
  2. Kids write letters/cards to each other.
  3. Skype every few days/weeks.
  4. With family in the US, we do meet each other for a family reunion at least once a year.
  5. Have to work on overseas siblings. :(

Other than that, I guess we stay in touch and follow up on issues we may have discussed. My sister and I are very close and have always given each other space but we're on top of all developments. It's just the 2 of us so it's easier. Hubby's family is all in the US so we get to meet more often and catch up.

27

Re: siblings living far apart

Facetime!