Military members are rarely stationed near their hometowns, family, or friends. The same, obviously, goes for their spouses and children. Unfortunately, this can lead to children, especially very young ones, viewing their relatives as virtual strangers. You can narrow the gap, however, between your children and your family with video calls through Skype.
Communications technology is moving forward all the time. You send emails and IM's instead of letters through the postal service. You send digital photos, or better yet, upload them to Flickr to let your family view and download them at their leisure. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! So, with all this new technology at your fingertips, don't tell me you're still having regular, old telephone conversations! Video calls add a whole, new dimension to your conversations, and they add a face to the voice your kids know as Grandma and Grandpa.
I like (and use) Skype because the quality is very good, it's free, and it's EASY. This can be the most important aspect when convincing the grandparents or other friends or family members to get on board with this whole webcam business. All you (and any relatives you want to chat with, of course) will need is a webcam and internet access.
About that Webcam...
Webcams are cheap, cheap, cheap these days! You can get a good quality
webcam, that will more than meet your needs for video chatting and
letting the little one(s) talk to grandma and grandpa 'face-to-face,'
for less than $20. There is a good selection of inexpensive webcams on the Amazon and Wal-Mart websites.
Download Skype
You can easily download Skype 3.8 for Windows, Skype 2.7 for Mac OSX, or Skype 2.0 for Linux from the Skype website.
That's it. It's easy to install, easy to use, and it can keep your family in touch better than ever!
Mom Types 
Thanks for the info I'll add it.
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