GrandkinsHow to keep kids connected to grandparents who speak another language
Why it drifts
It usually isn’t anyone’s fault. The kids grow up speaking English at school and at home, the grandparents speak the language they always have, and every call needs a parent in the middle. The calls get shorter, the kids get shy, and the relationship becomes something that happens through you.
What helps
- Same time every week. A standing call becomes part of the week, for both sides. Set one on Grandkins and everyone gets a reminder in their own time zone.
- Something to do together. Read a picture book on the call, answer the family’s Sunday question, or let the kids show what they made. It beats "how was school?".
- Let the kids talk for themselves. With the call translated both ways, a grandchild can tell the whole story in English and the grandparent hears it in their language.
- Little messages in between. A 20-second video of a goal or a lost tooth, translated for Grandma, keeps her in the everyday.
- Let the grandparents lead sometimes. Ask them about their childhood, their village, their cooking. The Sunday question is built for this.
Won’t translation stop them learning the language?
Not if you use it as a bridge. Translation keeps the relationship going while the kids learn at their own pace, and a relationship is what gives them a reason to learn. Keep the grandparent’s own voice in the mix: in messages, anyone can tap "Hear their real voice" to hear the actual words, and reading a two-language picture book together is a gentle way to pick up words.
Common questions
What age can kids start?
Any age that can sit through a short call. A parent adds each child, with consent for anyone under 13, and chooses who they can call.
Which languages does Grandkins translate?
English; ten Indian languages (Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi and Urdu); and Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Burmese, Khmer, Nepali and Swahili, in any pairing.
Do grandparents need to be good with phones?
The app’s buttons are in simple English, so someone may need to show them once. After that, answering is one tap, the phone can say out loud who’s calling, and calls can pick up by themselves while the app is open if you turn that on.
How much does it cost?
Starter is $9.99 a month or $99 a year with 100 translated minutes a month; Family is $14.99 a month or $149 a year with 200; Family Plus is $19.99 a month or $199 a year with 300. One plan covers up to 15 people, and every family starts with a free trial: 14 days or 60 translated minutes, whichever comes first.
Try it with your own family
Setup takes a few minutes: add your family, pick each person's language, and send each of them a 6-letter code. Plans start at $9.99 a month for the whole family, and every family starts with a free trial of 14 days or 60 translated minutes.
Start your family's free trial