Being away from your kid with any degree of permanence is difficult. You could\u2019ve relocated because of work, you could be deployed, your child could be studying abroad, or worst case scenario\u2014you could be separated from your partner. But knowing that you\u2019re probably going to miss out on many important moments in your kid\u2019s life\u2026 now that\u2019s the tough part.<\/p>\n
Except we\u2019re in the digital age, which means it doesn\u2019t have to be that tough anymore. Long-distance parenting is snazzier than before. So whatever your reason is for being away from your child (whether temporarily or permanently), you still can be a pretty good parent. Just follow these tips.<\/p>\n
The first thing you\u2019ve got to do when you\u2019re a few miles away from your child is to communicate regularly. And by regularly, I mean having a proper schedule that you abide by no matter how busy you are in your separate lives. Sure it\u2019s easier to find common time when you\u2019re all living under the same roof. But as the parent, you\u2019ve got to take initiative to step up and be the one that makes the telephone call, or has a Skype conversation or gets on Viber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the other aspect of this communication thing. It\u2019s got to be about more than just you asking them if they\u2019re feeling okay or if they\u2019ve done their homework. It\u2019s got to be more meaningful so that you\u2019re still connected to them.<\/p>\n If you saw Linklator\u2019s \u201cBoyhood\u201d recently (the film that took 12 years to make), there was a really interesting scene where the dad (played by Ethan Hawke) picks up his kids from their mom\u2019s house and forces a conversation out of them.<\/p>\n2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have Meaning Conversations<\/h2>\n