Grandparents Far Away? 8 Ways to Keep Their Voice in Your Toddler's Day

2026-10-25

Many families live with an ocean, a border or a long train ride between a toddler and their grandparents. Work moves people to new cities, and visas and ticket prices decide how often everyone meets. If your child's Nani, Grandma or Opa lives far away, you may worry that your little one will only know them as a face on a screen.

Distance does change things, but it doesn't have to make grandparents strangers. Toddlers aged 1 to 4 live in small, repeated moments: waking up, eating, bath time, a song before sleep. When a grandparent's voice, face or favourite rhyme turns up in those moments again and again, it becomes part of the child's ordinary world.

Here are eight practical ideas. None of them need special skills, and most take a few minutes a week.

1. Keep video calls short and at a good time of day

A one-year-old can't sit through a 40-minute call, and that's fine. Aim for five to ten minutes when your child is fed and rested, not just before a nap. Let the grandparent do one simple thing each time: sing the same song, show the same toy, or say the same "good morning" phrase. Repetition helps a toddler know what to expect, and it gives grandparents a role instead of a performance.

2. Ask for a voice note, not just a photo

Photos are lovely, but a short voice message carries something a picture doesn't: the exact way Grandpa says your child's name. Ask grandparents to send a 20-second voice note now and then, such as "Good night, little one, Dadi loves you", and play it at the same time every day. If the grandparent finds phones difficult, record them on your phone during the next call, with their permission.

3. Build a small "family voices" routine at home

Pick one daily moment and attach a grandparent's voice to it. Grandma's song at bath time and Grandpa's "time to brush teeth!" in the morning are two examples. In the Chunnu Ji app, a parent can record a few short lines in the Parent area, and the app's play activities then speak in that family voice. The Family Call activity, for example, is a pretend call with a familiar voice saying hello. It's a pretend call, not a real phone call, and the adult stays nearby.

4. Make a photo album your toddler can point at

Toddlers love naming faces. Print a few photos or use a simple photo album, and ask "Where is Nana? Where is Grandpa?" during quiet moments. Chunnu Ji's Family Photo World lets you add the faces your child loves, so they appear inside the games. Choose clear, close photos; a toddler recognises a smiling face better than a group photo at a wedding.

5. Record a rhyme or lullaby from their language

Grandparents often carry songs that parents half remember. Ask them to sing one lullaby or rhyme slowly, in their language, and record it. Even if your child is growing up with another language at school, hearing a grandparent's rhyme keeps a thread to the family's own words. See our guide to Family Lullabies for ideas on using songs at bedtime.

6. Give grandparents a "job" in the week

Long-distance grandparents sometimes feel like spectators. Give them a small, regular job: Sunday story time, choosing the "animal of the week" to talk about, or sending a new word each week. Then use that word or animal in play at home. Your toddler gets a link between the grandparent and real life, and the grandparent feels useful.

7. Keep the screen in its place

For very young children, public health guidance asks families to keep screen time low. The World Health Organization (2019) advises no sedentary screen time for one-year-olds and no more than one hour a day for two- to four-year-olds, and it encourages reading and storytelling with a caregiver. The American Academy of Pediatrics treats video chatting with family as an exception for children under 18 months, but even then, short is better. Audio-only moments like a voice note, a recorded song or a screen-off activity can carry a grandparent's presence without more screen time.

8. Prepare before a visit, and keep the memories after

Before grandparents visit, show their photo and play their voice for a few days so the meeting feels familiar. During the visit, record a few everyday lines with their permission: "Good morning", "Well done!", "Sleep well". After they leave, those lines can stay part of the day, so the goodbye at the airport is not the end of hearing them.

A note on privacy and consent

A grandparent's voice is personal. Record only your own voice, or a family member's voice with their permission, and explain how you'll use it. In Chunnu Ji, recordings stay on the phone; the app doesn't upload them, and it works offline after setup.

Bring the family closer

If you'd like your toddler to hear Grandma, Grandpa, Mummy and Papa during play, you can get Chunnu Ji on Google Play. It's free to start, has no ads, and is made for children aged 1–4 to enjoy together with a parent.

About the voice: making new play lines in a family voice needs a supported phone (64-bit Android, at least 5.5 GB RAM and 2.2 GB free space). On other phones, the app plays the lines you recorded.