Two Ways Skype Helps My Family During Summer Travel

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Our summer has been go, go, go!  Non stop planning, packing, having fun at our destination, unpacking, then planning the next trip.  We started the kid’s summer break off with a 4 day stay Callaway Gardens in East Georgia, then we stayed at a beautiful beach house in Gulf Shores, Alabama for a week, now we’re preparing for a 5 day stay at The King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia this Saturday and then I’m going to New Mexico for a business trip for 3 days, then we’re going to Callaway Gardens again for 4 days again.  A week after that trip I am scheduled to have surgery so I guess you could say that I’ve been trying to squeeze a lot of fun into a short summer break because my surgery is recovery time is cutting two weeks off of potential travel and fun time with the kids.

While my husband is not able to travel with the kids and I on all of these trips this summer and thus can’t read to her every night, which he and my daughter both love, I came up with the fabulous idea of using Skype to allow him to be right there with her in bed and read to her at night even though he’s hundreds of miles away.

Skype gives my kids the ability to see and talk to their dad while we’re away without him.  Seriously, Skype is a life changer for me.  Having my husband help put the kids to bed even though he’s hundreds of miles away is great and couldn’t be done without Skype.

Bedtime stories using Skype

Skype Tip #1: How to put a child to bed via Skype

  1. I get my daughter all ready for bed.  She brushes her teeth, flosses, rinses, goes to the bathroom and washes her hands and face.
  2. Then I tuck her in bed.
  3. Next, I put my laptop in the bed next to my 6 year old and connect to Skype.
  4. After that we call her Daddy on Skype.
  5. He picks up from wherever he is, via his iPhone or laptop.
  6. He talks to her about her day then he asks her to pick three stories from her pile of books by the bed.
  7. He reads the three books to her and then he SINGS to her like he always does at home.
This is just one way that Skype allows my daughter and husband to have a normal bedtime routine even during summer travel!
Skype’s new anti-shake video feature for iPhone makes video chats even more pleasant than they were before!

Skype Tip #2: Have a Skype group chat to help plan your summer vacation

Because our summer vacation trips often involve family members in other states, it is helpful to have a group ‘meeting’ before we arrive at our destination so everyone is on the same page regarding where we are going to go while we’re there, where we want to eat, etc.  It’s a great idea to set up a time when all of the adults involved in the vacation can chat via Skype and go over the details of the trip.  Skype Group Video Chat is available with a Premium subscription.
Here is a fun infographic that illustrates how 1,200 Moms think technology brings them closer to friends and family.
Skype Summer Travel
[simple_series title=”All posts in the Skype Series”]
Alicia Hagan, Editor
Disclaimer: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Skype. I received Skype credits to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

2 thoughts on “Two Ways Skype Helps My Family During Summer Travel”

  1. I think it helps with making the child feel comfortable as well. There’s something about actually seeing the person you’re talking to that’s important, that’makes them feel more comforted than just hearing their voice over the phone. When I travelled to England last summer, my nephew wanted to Skype every day. Talking on the phone was not sufficient enough for him.

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