Let’s be honest. Everyone is getting more screen time than normal, even our little ones. If we want guaranteed quiet time to work on virtual meeting calls, then a screen will be involved. Our kids are still getting plenty of play time, but play time is loud, sometimes involves screaming at one another, and always ends in one of the girls coming to us to tattle on the other. Screen time is quiet, unless the internet freezes up.
Ironically, as the youngest, Eleanor has the most unsupervised screen time because Dwayne and I still have work to do and Harper has school work to complete (or to put off completing). It’s not all bad news on the screen, though. I’ve started to be really impressed with some literacy skills she’s been developing from sneaking my phone and texting her grandparents.
This actually started before we began sheltering in place. Eleanor snuck my phone one night and sent some text messages to one of my bosses that included lots of beer mugs and fire emojis. 😒😒 She got in big trouble, but I could tell she was interested in communicating this way, which makes sense. She sees everyone around her using texts to communicate…..so we made a deal.
Setting Boundaries
It started with her only being allowed to text my mom. My mom is one of the few people who has a picture attached to her contact, so my 4-year-old always knows who it is and has no excuses about not being able to read. She now can read a bit more, so she knows she’s only allowed to text family members. No more “accidental” messages to the wrong people.
Emergent Literacy through Emojis
There’s not a ton of research out there. But I have a feeling it’s coming. As kids continue to be read text messages (typically from ones they love), there’s an urge for them to want to communicate in the same manner. Eleanor began doing that through strings of emojis.
Since mom typically responds in bitmojis, pictures, other emojis, or gifs Eleanor is able to understand and respond independently. Her responses have become more sophisticated as time goes on.
She knows how to type her own name and she knows how to type love you. And sometimes after trying to find letters and make words has become too taxing, she just types random letters for fun.
In this message she sent today, Eleanor was able to respond by using the predictive text to choose the right words she wanted to communicate. Something she figured out on her own.
Audio Messaging
She also will frequently send audio messages through texts. To be honest, she showed me how to do this. I never knew how people sent those little recordings of themselves as messages until I watched her send them back and forth one day.
Using Siri to Send More Complex Text
This morning I witnessed her using some problem solving skills as well. My dad had sent her a good morning text accompanied by a picture of his pancakes. Lying next to her I watched her try to figure out how to respond talking about how delicious they looked and she realized there was no way that was happening. She hit the button to turn the screen off completely and then asked Siri to send the text for her.
She told Siri to say, “Those look delicious. Can I have one?”
Close enough, right?
Guilt Free Screen Time
In all, parents need to make sure they’re not feeling guilty about the excessive screen time some of our kids are getting right now. We have to do what we can to make it work. But some early literacy skills in there are an added bonus, right?
Love and Literacy 