Penfriends For Kids

Isn’t it exciting to receive mail? Real mail – a letter full of news with your name on it, a lovely stamp and perhaps, a little extra something inside? Receiving it from a friend who lives in a different country makes it even more fascinating! Making penfriends is a great way to enrich your child’s life and revive the lost art of letter writing.

My daughter has been writing to her penpals since she was 7 years old and continues to make new friends from around the world. She waits anxiously for the postman to deliver envelopes with her own name on them and loves to read about her friends from different parts of the world. In turn, she writes (graphically) detailed letters telling them about herself and life in India.

Finding a Penpal for Your Child

There are many websites devoted to the cause. I haven’t yet used any of them to be honest, though I might consider them in future. The best one is Students of the World I gather from research. All my daughter’s penfriends were made through friends of friends. I have been in the online business for 13 years now and made a lot of friends from all over the world. I am an active member of many international card-exchanges myself. Moms and Dads all over the world are looking for similar-minded children for their kids to write to, and I was approached by one of them. After the successful exchange of letters with her first penpal, I started approaching other parents on my own when I felt their children would make a good match for my daughter.

Snail/Postal Mail Only

So far, we have kept the letters physical i.e. no emails allowed. It is a thrill to have a letter delivered that is stamped from a different country. As it is, the kids today are surrounded by too make gadgets. When she is 13, I will let my daughter decide is she wants to continue through emails and social media too.

Writing to a Penfriend

If you wonder what children write to each other, you will be surprised. They have so much going on in their lives! They do need writing prompts from you at times, though. Often my daughter asks me, “What do I write about, this time?” I prompt her to think of any event she participated in, a journey she took or an achievement she received in school.

Similar aged girls have endless lists of TV serials, movies and games and activities to talk about.

A Glimpse into India

Whenever possible, we include details about Indian festivals, traditions and glimpses into our culture. In her own words, my daughter describes Raksha Bandhan and Diwali or writes about life in Indian schools. She also enclosed a ‘Rakhi’ in her letter once that her American friend tied on to the wrist of her own brother. Sometimes, she sends pictures of travel destinations in India or of herself dressed in ethnic Indian attire.

Getting to Know About Other Cultures

Letters from her penfriends keep my daughter updated on lives in other countries. She quickly figures out the difference in their lives from the details they share. She also comes to know of whatever is the coolest activity for girls her age, in a certain country or what’s the latest movie or character everyone is talking about.

Making Letters Interesting

Creative as all kids are, they leave no stones unturned in making their letters interesting. From artwork to little gifts inside the envelopes, the letters are so much fun. From pictures and stickers to handmade bracelets and hairbands, you can find any kind of surprise inside the letter. The letters themselves are written on pretty paper with a lot of artwork by the kids.

Pretty Stationery

I like to make things even more interesting by gifting my daughter pretty stationery from time to time. She received this fabulous stationery set for Christmas and has been making good use of it to write to her penpals.

The set includes ruled paper, envelopes, postcards and stickers to seal the letters with and makes the letter writing process even more interesting for the young correspondent!