Grandoodlez Helps Grandparents Bond with Grandchildren

Eileen Meier, Founder and Chief Executive Oma of Grandoodlez understands the longing in long-distance grandparenting. Eileen lives in Florida and her four grandchildren live in New England. “If we see them four times a year, we feel lucky.”

One morning in February 2006, just after two of her grandchildren had flown back home, she was feeling kind of blue. There has to be a better way to stay connected between visits, she thought. Talking on the phone was difficult because the kids got distracted very easily. “They liked pressing the buttons and hanging up on us.”

Eileen sat down at the computer and started working on a website she called Grandoodlez, where grandparents and grandkids can create talking books and cards, draw doodlez, record videos, and send messages and photos.

An advertising director for over 18 years, Eileen tapped into her graphic design background and built her own website. She wanted it to be fun and safe and appeal to both generations. She also wanted to make it user-friendly so that all the tech-savvy Baby Boomers surfing the Internet  would have an imaginative new way to bond with their grandchildren.

Eileen has her own quality assurance team—her grandkids—who started using Grandoodlez when they were three years old. Her two youngest, Alban and Arden are her Grandoodlez “spokeskids.” They’re the adorable faces in the turquoise retro television screen on the homepage. Their dad, who is Eileen’s son, is a filmmaker and shot the tutorial video for the website.

Once you log in to the site, you’ll find all kinds of whimsical details in the purple 50s retro cityscape. The interactive elements include a Miles Davis wall poster, a piano keyboard you can scroll over to create your own melody as well as cymbals and bongo drums that make sounds. Her granddaughters, Ansa and Hilja named the two animated creatures, OrangeHead Cat and Beebee Mouse, who live in My Place. When you press the doorbell, you can see them do everyday things in their apartment window like making pancakes or playing music or table tennis.

With Artdoodlez you can create talking cards and books with text, graphics and even animations. Each page can be narrated with the voice recorder. Yakety Yax is a video and voice recorder. You can stop and resume recording so it’s really fun to make special effects like hats suddenly appearing on your head. Your grandkids will think it’s the funniest thing ever.

The spirit behind Grandoodlez is nurturing the grandparent and grandchild relationship. Knowing your grandchildren’s likes and dislikes, their character, how they think, their talents, aspirations and dreams will help you get to know your grandchild. When you’re with them, you play with them because play is their world and they are creative beings. You sit at the kitchen table coloring together, have a tea party or play Monopoly. You learn things about each other that way and that’s what Grandoodlez hopes to provide for long-distance families—a fun and creative way to connect.

Grandoodlez is safe and private with username and password protection and completely ad free.

Disclaimer: Grandoodlez is a sponsor of this blog.

Some Kudos GaGa Sisterhood Received Over The Years

Scroll to Top