As parents and therapists for children, we can reminisce on how we used to schedule play dates or wish friends a happy birthday when we were younger and realize that these social interactions are typically much different for kids now. The days of writing letters or calling on a landline are considered old-school. Communicating with peers on the internet is a common daily interaction and this can be difficult for a lot of kids. Pragmatics involve how people communicate in specific social situations. Understanding someone’s tone, appropriate use of emojis, or how many times to send a message without a response are some social aspects of texting that may need to be learned.
Here are some aspects of texting to consider:
You can talk about these situations with your children and send messages to each other as practice. Give examples of how they could respond. It can be tricky to understand someone’s tone through texting, so consider different ways a text could be interpreted. Below is a link to an activity to practice texting.
Good luck! And as always, we are here if you have any questions!
-Lauren-