Month: September 2025

Grandparenting in a digital world is exciting, heartwarming, and, let’s be honest, a little confusing at times. While technology can feel overwhelming, it’s also one of the best ways to stay connected with your tech-savvy grandchildren. 

From video calls to online games, digital tools offer countless ways to bond no matter the distance. But how do you balance the joys with the challenges? Let’s explore.

Why Is Technology So Important for Staying Connected with Grandchildren?

Today’s kids are growing up surrounded by screens, apps, and gadgets. For them, chatting through FaceTime, sending emojis, or sharing a TikTok video is as natural as making a phone call used to be. For grandparents, keeping up with these tools can strengthen relationships and help bridge generational gaps.

Technology also makes it easier to stay close if your family lives far away. A quick message, a shared photo, or even playing a game together online can bring comfort and joy to both sides.

What Are the Biggest Joys of Grandparenting in a Digital World?

Closeness Across Distance

Whether you live in the same town or on opposite coasts, you can see your grandchild’s smile instantly.

Sharing Daily Life

Photos, voice notes, and videos help you keep up with school projects, soccer games, or even the funny things the family pet is doing.

Learning Something New Together

Tech-savvy grandchildren often love teaching their grandparents how to use apps or gadgets. It can be a bonding moment when roles reverse, and they get to be the teacher.

Building New Traditions

From weekly video calls to playing online trivia games, digital tools can create fresh traditions for your family.

What Challenges Do Grandparents Face with Technology?

Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. Some common hurdles include:

• Feeling overwhelmed by apps and devices. Just when you get the hang of one platform, your grandchildren move on to another.
• Different communication styles. Short text replies or lots of emojis may feel impersonal to you, but for kids, it’s just their way of chatting.
• Concerns about screen time. Finding balance between healthy use of tech and too much screen exposure can be tricky.
• Privacy and safety worries. Many grandparents worry about online safety and protecting personal information.

The key is patience, practice, and keeping an open mind.

How Can You Use Video Calls to Bond with Grandchildren?

Video calls are one of the most powerful tools for grandparenting in a digital world. Beyond simple conversation, you can turn video calls into fun experiences. Here are a few ideas:

• Storytime sessions – Read bedtime stories over Zoom or FaceTime.
• Show-and-tell – Ask grandkids to share their latest drawing, Lego creation, or science project.
• Cooking together – Prepare a family recipe side by side from your kitchens.
• Virtual tours – Take them “with you” on a walk by turning your phone camera around, and let them do the same.

These calls don’t just connect voices, they create memories.

What Games Can Grandparents Play Online with Kids?

Playing together is one of the best ways to bond. Luckily, there are games across all ages and tech comfort levels.

For younger kids:

• Online coloring apps or drawing games like Skribbl.io
• Digital puzzles and matching games
• Classic board games in app form (Candy Land, Monopoly, or Uno)

For older kids and teens:

• Word games like Words with Friends
• Trivia and quiz apps
• Multiplayer games like Minecraft or Mario Kart (if you’re comfortable on a console)

Tip: Ask your grandchild to recommend a game. They’ll be thrilled to “introduce” you to their world.

Read more: Let Us Entertain You! Have You Tried Our FREE Sixty and Me Games?

How Can Social Media Help You Stay Involved?

Many families share updates on Facebook, Instagram, or private family chat groups. Social media can give you a window into your grandchildren’s world, but it’s wise to use it thoughtfully.

• Join private family groups where photos and updates are shared.
• Comment on posts to show interest without overdoing it.
• Share your own life moments; gardening, hobbies, or even an old photo of their parent as a child (kids love this!).

Read more: Social Media for Grown Women – What to Post, What to Skip, and How to Stay Safe

What Offline Activities Can Be Enriched with Digital Tools?

Digital tools don’t have to replace in-person fun, they can enhance it.

• Use apps to learn a new language together before a family trip.
• Track steps on a fitness app and have a friendly walking competition.
• Try online karaoke or dance challenges for laughs.
• Create digital scrapbooks of family events and share them online.

The goal isn’t to replace “real life” but to blend it with meaningful digital interaction.

How Can You Manage the Challenges of Screen Time?

Grandparents often worry about too much screen time. The best approach is balance. Instead of banning tech, make it purposeful.

• Schedule “tech dates” like a Friday game night online.
• Mix digital time with physical activities, such as doing a craft you found together on YouTube.
• Model balance by putting your own phone away during family visits.

This teaches healthy habits without turning technology into a battle.

What Are Some Creative Ways to Build Digital Traditions?

Family traditions don’t have to stop at Sunday dinners or holiday gatherings. Here are digital traditions you can start:

• Weekly check-ins – Pick a set day to share one photo each (maybe “Funny Face Friday”).
• Birthday shoutouts – Send a personalized video message.
• Seasonal projects – Work together on a digital scrapbook each year.
• Virtual talent shows – Let the grandkids perform a song or skit for you on camera.

These small rituals build connection over time.

How Can Grandparents Stay Safe Online?

As much as technology connects us, online safety is essential. Some tips:

• Use strong, unique passwords.
• Keep devices updated to prevent security issues.
• Be cautious about clicking unknown links.
• Stick to private family groups for sharing photos.

Learning digital safety not only protects you but also sets a good example for younger generations.

Embracing the Joys While Managing the Challenges

Grandparenting in a digital world is both rewarding and sometimes overwhelming. The joys, like staying close to grandchildren no matter the miles, far outweigh the challenges. By keeping an open heart, trying new tools, and even letting your grandchildren be the teachers at times, you’ll not only stay connected, you’ll thrive in this new digital age of family life.

Read more: 2025 Tech Trends – Navigating the Digital World.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you video chat with your grandchildren regularly? What do you enjoy most about it? Have your grandkids taught you a new app or game that you now love? What traditions have you created to connect digitally with your family? Do you feel more joy or more frustration when using technology to connect? Tell us about it in the comments below. 

Photo: @arianamadix

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Originally posted at: Ariana Madix’s Black Sequin Long Sleeve Dress

Everyday fall loafer, sorted.

We are not growing older. We are growing wilder. We are the Wild Queens.

As I approached my 60th year, I felt an aliveness that I hadn’t felt for a long time. There was a sense of joy and acknowledgment that I had made it this far. I had survived the storms of my life and here I was on the precipice of a new age, a new becoming and new experiences. Gone was the insecure girl of my 20s and the rather anxious young woman of my 30s. Instead, here I am, at 65 years old, feeling that perhaps this is where the real story of my life truly begins.

It made me wonder if everything up to this point in my life had simply been a rehearsal for the woman that I have become and am becoming. I didn’t expect to feel this way. Growing up I was given messages about the “rules” of becoming an older woman.

Don’t wear your hair long, keep it short and sensible.

Don’t draw attention to yourself – what on earth would people think?

Wear clothes that minimize you – you don’t want to look like “mutton dressed as lamb.”

And yet, here I am, wearing my hair long and free, my clothes are a mix of bohemian spirit meets romantic essence. I teach, write and dance my way through life. Those old beliefs and “rules” no longer apply to me because I realized that my experience of growing older was up to me and the choices I made, the beliefs I had and the actions I took. This, more than anything, is what empowers me as a life, Body Confidence and Joyful ageing coach. I have lived it and now I teach it.

Choose

Life is full of choices and endless moments of possibility. So many choices hovering in the space around you, waiting to be filled, waiting to be claimed, owned and dreamed into being by you. What will you choose today? There are billions of paths less travelled, which ones are yours? How do you know which path and journey will lead you home? The answer is that you’re already home. The real question is how do you embody the space called you?

What is it that makes your spirit soar and your heart sing? What are the words that you long to hear and crave to say? Where are you wild, untamable and free? What is it that you and only you can bring to this world in your own unique and inimitable way?

So today, as you breathe in another moment of your life and wonder what you might do with all of these unlimited possibilities of pure potential – choose consciously, choose courageously, choose wholeheartedly and choose kindly, lovingly and with compassion.

The Quiet Revolution

There’s a quiet revolution underway – and it’s anything but invisible. It’s radiant, unfiltered, and fierce. Women over 60 are shedding the outdated scripts handed to them by a society obsessed with youth, and stepping boldly into a new chapter – one not defined by decline, but by deep power, unapologetic freedom, and wild self-expression.

In my book, Romancing Your Body: How to Fall Deeply, Passionately and Wildly in Love with Your Body and Your Life, I share seven promises that are vital to make to ourselves as we age. These help to truly embody the age that we are in – the age of the wild queen.

The Power of Being Wild

To be wild is not to be reckless. It is to be unruled. Unbound by the expectations that once tried to define you: how to dress, how to speak, how to age “gracefully” (when all you wanted was to age in YOUR own way). The wild woman listens to the wisdom of her bones. She wears what makes her feel electric, untamed, unbound and free. She says no without guilt and yes without apology. She walks her path barefoot if she must.

In her wildness, she remembers what it means to belong to herself and live her life in a way that shapes and honours her soul.

Reclaiming the Narrative

For too long, ageing has been sold as something to resist – a slow retreat from relevance, vitality, and desirability. But that story isn’t true. The 60-plus woman is not fading; she is flaming. After decades of caretaking, career-building, surviving, and striving, she now stands in her full power – self-knowing, intuitive, untamed.

Empowered ageing isn’t about “anti-ageing.” It’s about being pro-evolution. It’s about honoring the richness of lived experience and using it as fuel for a more authentic, liberated life. It’s realizing that freedom doesn’t come after the wrinkles disappear – it arrives when we stop asking permission to be ourselves.

The Power of No – And the Joy of Yes

One of the greatest gifts of this stage is clarity. Wild Queens know what they want, and even more importantly, what they don’t. Saying no becomes sacred. Saying yes becomes a dance of joy – yes to new adventures, yes to solitude, yes to creativity, sensuality, play, and purpose.

This is the time to wear the red boots, the pink taffeta skirt, dye your hair purple, start the book, join the band, or simply spend a quiet afternoon doing exactly what your soul needs. There are no more rules. The only requirement? That it feels true, authentic, light and empowering for you.

Wisdom as Rebellion

In a world that worships speed and surface, the deep wisdom of older women is radical. You’ve walked through fire – heartbreak, reinvention, grief, joy, love, loss, and rebirth. Your insight is not just valuable; it’s vital.

Empowered ageing means claiming your space as a leader, mentor, healer, artist, storyteller – whatever your version of royalty looks like. It means showing the next generation what true beauty and strength look like: not filtered, not perfect, but fully alive. Part of this for me also means sharing my own journey on Instagram and inspiring other women to rise into their own majesty and magnificence, no matter what age they are.

Becoming More You

Perhaps the most empowering truth of ageing is this: you are not becoming someone else. You are becoming more you. The parts that were hidden, silenced, or shaped to please others now rise. The Wild Queen is not a new persona – she’s who you’ve always been, finally unmasked.

This is your time:

• to live untamed.
• to speak the truth.
• to love with abandon.
• to be soft and strong.
• to take up space, without apology.
• to wear your life like a crown.

So, to every woman over 60: You are not growing older. You are growing wilder. And the world has never needed your magic more.

Four Compelling Tips for the Wild Queen Within

1. Reclaim Your Narrative

“Whose story am I still living? Whose approval am I still chasing?”

Tip: Sit down with a journal and write your own story of ageing – not the one sold by society, but the one you choose now. Include your values, your desires, and your truths.

2. Reignite Desire and Aliveness

“What makes me feel alive in my body, heart, and spirit?”

Tip: Desire doesn’t retire. Ask yourself: What would bring me joy, connection, or creative flow? Even small acts – dancing in the kitchen, booking that solo trip, trying something totally new – ignite aliveness.

Every morning, ask: “What would feel wild and free today?”

Then do one thing in that direction, however small.

3. Set Queenly Boundaries

“What am I no longer available for?”

Tip: Boundaries aren’t walls – they’re clarity. You’ve earned the right to be discerning. No more over-giving, over-explaining, or tolerating energy leaks.

Make two lists:

• Things that nourish me
• Things that drain me

Commit to one boundary shift this week and take action on it. Start small, but mean it.

4. Honour Your Body as Sacred

“What if this body is not a problem to fix – but a story to honour?”

Tip: Instead of fixating on what’s changing, practice reverence and gratitude. You are not becoming “less” – you are becoming legendary. Repeat out loud to yourself every morning, “This body is mine and she is enough.”

Remember: The Queen Leads Herself First

Empowered ageing isn’t about doing it all. It’s about choosing you – every day of your reign on this earth. It’s about no longer waiting to be invited or validated.

You’re already enough. Already wise. Already worthy. This is your time. Not to fade, but to flourish. Not to conform, but to expand. You are a Wild Queen – untamed, unfiltered, and unforgettable.

Because 60 is not the end of the road – it’s just the start of your reign. To go deeper into the wild queen, you may love the Wild Queen Journal. A beautiful resource of 50 potent journal prompts and empowering affirmations designed to help you:

• Reclaim your voice, your magic, and your deepest desires.
• Rewrite your story as a woman in her power.
• Embody the queen archetype – with fire in her belly and softness in her heart.
• Celebrate midlife and beyond as a sacred initiation, not a slow fade.

For more inspiration and queenly coaching tips please join me on Instagram @romancingyourbody. It would be lovely to have your company and you are very welcome.

Reflection Questions:

Who are you becoming now? You are not who you were at 30, 40, or 50 – and you are not finished becoming. What new version of you is emerging now?

So, you’re this side of 60 and toying with the idea of embarking on your first walking holiday. It’s not as mad as it sounds. And it’s not just you – walking holidays are becoming increasingly popular as we seek out more immersive experiences and embrace the benefits of slow travel.

Whether you’re planning a series of gentle strolls or heart-busting alpine hikes, a walking holiday will get you out in the fresh air, surrounded by natural beauty, and hopefully, leave you at the end of each day weary but inspired.

However, the key to a successful trip is most definitely in the preparation. If this is your first hiking holiday, you need to decide from the outset how independent you want to be. After that, it’s all about getting as hiking ready as you can to ensure your trip runs smoothly.

Planning Your Holiday

Checking into a rural hotel and enjoying some pleasant local walks may feel like the simplest option, particularly if you have concerns about the hiking. But if you’re new to hiking, planning and navigating routes can be tricky. Bear in mind also that trail signposting varies enormously from one country to another.

If you like the idea of point-to-point hiking and want to hand over the research to someone else, some companies offer the independence of self-guided hiking, allowing you to follow planned routes with the aid of maps and GPS directions. They’ll also transfer your luggage, so you get to stay in several locations and experience different environments.

Alternatively, a popular option for a first walking holiday is to join a guided group hiking holiday where literally everything is done for you. No need to worry about routes or directions, or fret over where to stop for lunch – just put one foot in front of the other and enjoy the view and company!

Choosing the Right Level Holiday

Whichever option you select, it’s vital that you know the right level holiday for you. Look carefully at both the average and maximum length of the hikes, as well as any ascents and descents involved. Check also if you can cut short your walks if you’re feeling weary or if you have to complete the whole route. The secret really is to feel moderately challenged without feeling out of your depth or so tired that you can’t face walking the next day.

How to Prepare for Your First Walking Holiday

It’s never too early to start training! The better prepared you are, the more you’ll enjoy it, so start some sort of training programme as soon as you’ve booked your holiday. Apart from anything else, it’ll make you feel great!

Jogging, running, cycling, swimming and Pilates are all excellent ways of building your leg muscles and core strength but putting in the walking hours will also stand you in good stead. Intersperse long training walks with shorter brisk 30-minute walks, perhaps with a few hills, to raise your heart rate.

This is also the time to break in new boots if you want to avoid blisters and other common feet-related ailments on your holiday.

What to Take

If you’re travelling with a tour operator, you should receive a comprehensive kit list. In addition to your boots and socks, take lightweight quick-drying clothes to keep your luggage light. Little extras such as a waterproof cover for your rucksack, a sustainable water bottle and a small portable charger can come in very useful, and a basic first aid kit is always a good idea. I’m a staunch supporter of walking poles but do recommend trying them out before your holiday.

Local Culture

But it’s not just about the walking. Part of the beauty of a walking holiday is the joy of walking through the landscape and getting to see things you might not see if you were travelling by car or train. Get the most from your trip by reading up on the local culture, wildlife and history before you go and consider choosing a book that’s set in the region you’re visiting for your holiday reading material.

Eat Healthily

We all know the benefits of eating healthily but sometimes need that extra little push to put it into practice. Eating well during the run-up to your holiday will definitely stand you in good stead so fuel up on complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and wholewheat bread, lean proteins and healthy fats to build energy reserves.

What to Expect from Your Holiday

Managing your expectations will make quite a difference to how much you enjoy your holiday. Read through the itinerary carefully so you have a good idea about the terrain you’re going to cover, as well as the accommodation and restaurants on the schedule, so there are no nasty surprises.

If you’re joining a group, inevitably there will be a mix of people. Of course, you may not want to be best friends with everyone, but the more open-minded you are, the more you’ll get out of meeting your fellow hikers.

As for the walking, you’ll quickly find out that there’s nothing quite like the thrill of reaching a mountain peak or the end of a lengthy trail and discovering that you can become a hiker at any age!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you ever been on a hiking holiday and if so, where to? Did you hike independently or join a guided group? Is there anywhere you’d particularly like to explore on foot?