A new app, Kinsome, aims to strengthen the bond between grandparents and their grandchildren by facilitating regular communication through a fun and engaging platform. Geared towards children aged six to eleven, Kinsome utilizes gamification and a conversational interface to make it enjoyable for kids to share updates with their grandparents. The app’s developer, Pingree, has focused on ensuring the app is captivating enough to hold children’s attention while fostering meaningful connections between generations.
Pingree was inspired to develop Kinsome after discussions with hundreds of grandparents revealed a heartfelt desire to play a more significant role in their grandchildren’s lives.
“We were shocked by how frequently they brought up wanting to play a bigger role in their grandkids’ lives,” – Pingree
Bridging the Generational Divide
Kinsome tackles the challenge of maintaining familial bonds in an increasingly disconnected world. A recent report highlighted the concerning trend of reduced communication among family members, with Americans speaking nearly 40% less with relatives outside their immediate household since 2003. This decrease in family interaction has been linked to an increased risk of premature death by over 60%. Pingree believes addressing loneliness should be prioritized as a health condition requiring prevention and treatment.
The app facilitates updates from children via text or email using a “Magic Link.” This link allows grandparents to receive updates and respond with suggested questions that encourage deeper conversations.
“At the highest level, the goal is to bring the two generations together and help them find shared interests but also give them more touch points and context for what’s going on in each other’s lives.” – Pingree
A Foundation for Lasting Relationships
Kinsome’s approach recognizes that building a strong grandparent-grandchild relationship goes beyond occasional video calls. By providing regular opportunities for interaction, the app seeks to fill the void left by infrequent communication.
“A lot of times people just assume a grandkid and grandparent, because they’re in the same family, automatically have this bond, but they need to build up the foundation for a relationship, and that’s really hard to do if you’re getting on a Facetime call once a week or once a month. So, we’re trying to fill in that gap.” – Pingree
The app’s development drew inspiration from Pingree’s observations of intergenerational living setups, where frequent interactions naturally foster strong bonds. This digital recreation of such environments aims to facilitate similar experiences for families separated by distance.
“This time between grandparents and their grandchildren can look different depending on geography, age of the kids, and the overall health of the grandparents, but it is a very special way for everyone to feel loved and more connected.” – Preeti Malani, MD
Strengthening Family Bonds Across Distances
Kinsome is part of the Yahoo family of brands, underscoring its commitment to leveraging technology for positive social impact. The app’s ultimate goal is to help families overcome physical distances and create lasting memories. By enabling more frequent communication, grandparents can actively participate in their grandchildren’s lives, just as many fondly remember their own grandparents doing during their childhoods.
“They’re feeling like they are playing a role in the next generation of their family.” – Pingree
Pingree hopes that Kinsome will instill a sense of urgency in families to prioritize these connections within the limited time they have.
“One of the reactions my wife and I had was just this spike in urgency around making sure our kids felt as deep of a connection with them as much as possible in this pretty rapidly shrinking window.” – Pingree
Featured Image courtesy of Ideogram
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