Video Call Activities to Do With Your Grandkids

If your video calls with the grandchildren have ever stalled into "How's school? ... Good ... okay then," you are not alone. Young children are not built for sit-still conversation, especially on a screen. The fix is not to talk more — it is to do something together. Here are activities that turn a call from an interview into playtime, sorted by age.

For toddlers and preschoolers (the wigglers)

Little ones have short attention spans and love movement and silliness:

• Peekaboo and silly faces. Never underestimate it. Hiding, popping back, and making goofy faces is pure delight at this age.
• Show and tell. "Go get me your favorite toy!" sends them running and returning, beaming. Each object is a story.
• Sing songs with motions. The wheels on the bus, itsy-bitsy spider — anything with hand actions you both do together.
• A mini scavenger hunt. "Can you find something red? Something soft?" turns the whole house into a game.

Keep these calls short and high-energy. Five lively minutes beats twenty restless ones.

For school-age kids (the doers)

Now you can build real shared activities:

• Draw together. Both grab paper and crayons and draw the same thing — a dragon, your house, each other. Hold them up and compare.
• Read a book in tandem. Get two copies of the same book and start a little book club, a chapter at a time.
• Play a game. Cards, checkers with two boards, tic-tac-toe held to the camera, or 20 Questions. Simple games travel beautifully over video.
• Cook or bake along. Make the same simple recipe together. Decorating cookies over video is a guaranteed hit.
• "Teach me" time. Ask them to teach you something — a dance, a game, how their favorite toy works. Children love being the expert.

For tweens and teens (the busy ones)

Older kids need lower pressure and shared interests:

• Watch something together. Start the same show or video at the same time and react together.
• Cook a real recipe you can both eat at the end.
• Talk about their world — their music, their game, their team. Let them lead; be curious, not quizzing.
• Keep it short and casual. A quick, low-key check-in respects their time and keeps the door open.

The thing that makes any of it work

None of these activities matter if the call is a hassle to start. With young children especially, the moment has to be seized when they are in the mood — which means connecting has to be instant. A setup where you simply tap each other's face and you are talking (like Nana Chat) is what lets a spontaneous "let's draw!" actually happen, instead of dying while someone hunts for the right app.

End with a ritual

However you fill the call, close it the same loving way each time — a special wave, a blown kiss, a silly catchphrase, your goodbye song. That small repeated ritual becomes the part the grandchildren look forward to, and the warm note the call ends on every time.

Key Takeaways

• Don't talk more — do something together; shared activity beats small talk, especially with kids.
• Toddlers love movement and silliness; school-age kids love games, drawing, and reading along; teens want low-pressure shared interests.
• Match the activity and length to the child's age and attention span.
• Spontaneous play only works if connecting is instant — one-tap setups like Nana Chat make "let's play now!" possible.
• Close every call with the same little ritual the grandchildren can look forward to.