Kindergartners and email/texts

[Anonymous]

My kindergartner likes to send texts (from a phone) and emails (from a computer) to grandparents. The notes are simple like, "I love you from [kid]" or "I will see you in April from [kid]". He's become increasingly independent at it and rarely needs to ask us how to spell stuff or where keys are (autocomplete on the phone is his friend). If he leaves off the "from [kid]" I honestly wonder how long my dad might go thinking he's having a text conversation with me.

Is this totally normal or a little advanced? He's a young K - turned 5 right at the beginning of the school year.

I am trying to baseline, not to humblebrag. I got a note today from his teacher that he's been upset going to computer lab because he doesn't like the typing game they play, and she thinks it's because he's not good at it and/or not comfortable with technology. I was shocked based on what I see him doing at home.

[Anonymous]

SOOOOOOOOO Advanced!!!!

[Anonymous]

Mine does the same on the phone - not computer. He needs help navigating to MIL's name in my contacts but will type texts like "what are you doing now i love you this is johnny"

LOL

[Anonymous]

Tell her he likes to text so perhaps he just doesn't like the games that is offered. Nothing more to it.

[Anonymous]

Very normal. Lots of kids use phones and tablets way more than computer keyboards and so are much more comfortable and skilled with the former.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell her he likes to text so perhaps he just doesn't like the games that is offered. Nothing more to it.

+1

[Anonymous]

Sorry to break it to you but normal. My kid was texting dad and I and we got tired of it so we put the grandparents on his messenger and now he annoys them instead of us all the time. Grandparents thought it was special till they realized why we did it.

[Anonymous]

Advanced ... No. He sound like a kid who was raised on screens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kindergartner likes to send texts (from a phone) and emails (from a computer) to grandparents. The notes are simple like, "I love you from [kid]" or "I will see you in April from [kid]". He's become increasingly independent at it and rarely needs to ask us how to spell stuff or where keys are (autocomplete on the phone is his friend). If he leaves off the "from [kid]" I honestly wonder how long my dad might go thinking he's having a text conversation with me.

Is this totally normal or a little advanced? He's a young K - turned 5 right at the beginning of the school year.

I am trying to baseline, not to humblebrag. I got a note today from his teacher that he's been upset going to computer lab because he doesn't like the typing game they play, and she thinks it's because he's not good at it and/or not comfortable with technology. I was shocked based on what I see him doing at home.

Every kid with access to a tablet, laptop, computer, or phone does this. It would be abnormal if your kid didn't do it. Get with it, it's almost 2017.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kindergartner likes to send texts (from a phone) and emails (from a computer) to grandparents. The notes are simple like, "I love you from [kid]" or "I will see you in April from [kid]". He's become increasingly independent at it and rarely needs to ask us how to spell stuff or where keys are (autocomplete on the phone is his friend). If he leaves off the "from [kid]" I honestly wonder how long my dad might go thinking he's having a text conversation with me.

Is this totally normal or a little advanced? He's a young K - turned 5 right at the beginning of the school year.

I am trying to baseline, not to humblebrag. I got a note today from his teacher that he's been upset going to computer lab because he doesn't like the typing game they play, and she thinks it's because he's not good at it and/or not comfortable with technology. I was shocked based on what I see him doing at home.

Then he is obviously not very advanced, is he?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell her he likes to text so perhaps he just doesn't like the games that is offered. Nothing more to it.

+1

I'd ask why she thinks he is uncomfortable with technology, since he seems to enjoy it at home.

The behavior itself, sending texts and emails, seems perfectly normal for the age. I have a K boy who does the same.

[Anonymous]

Holy crap some of you people are grumpy! Op that's really sweet. My son is much older but has always done this too. He's great with computers and has his own gaming desktop in his room. But he's never liked the technology games they have at school. It's not that he's not good at computers, he's just bored with the games they have. Ignore the mean responses. Your kid may or may not be advanced.

[Anonymous]

Usually the school technology lags behind what some kids have at home, so they hate the school stuff. Think of it in terms of how much another generation hated borking Dick and Jane books.

[Anonymous]

My 5-year-old also likes to send texts and emails. She can also operate the remote control to turn on the TV and find her shows on DVR, so in that respect, she's more advanced than my parents.

As far as the teacher's note, I would disregard. Sometimes kids just don't like the activity. Sometimes they rely on the same (boring to some kids) games because they assume all kids think "anything computer = soooooo fun!!!"

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's particularly cognitively advanced. Most 3 year olds I know can take a pic with an iPhone by accessing the app, etc. It's not a challenging executive functioning exercise.

What it is though is a values thing. Are you comfortable with your child being familiar with your phone? Are you comfortable with them acting as if it is theirs and grabbing it when they get a bit older? Or accessing it and using it without your knowledge?

But my family is somewhat anti-screen, and our smart phones are for adult use only, with very rare occasions of supervised use for an educational app.