The first 5 years of life are a period of rapid communication development. Children are learning how their sounds make things happen, that words mean objects in their life, words go together to tell their friends stories and rules of a game. They are also quickly learning that objects and pictures hold meaning, often before they learn the specific words – babies smile first at their bottle long before they can say “bottle” or “milk”, and how many children can magically find the icon for YouTube on the iPad?

As adults there are many ways we communicate with our friends – memes, text-to-speak, voice notes, emojis, short reels (videos), texts and calls. These visual representations of communication, visuals, help convey the meaning of our message, help us get the message across quickly and sometimes are the message. But it doesn’t end with communicating, we also use visuals for daily life, from to do lists, road signs, app pictures, and looking up videos for recipes. This ability to interpret and use a variety of media (music, videos, pictures and gestures) is called multiliteracy. Our children have been exposed to internet-speak, multiliteracy, their whole lives. A huge part of their communication happens online, so digital tools can be a very important part of their communication tool box.

Multiliteracy can help children:

• Make a message permanent

• Allow for processing time

• Prepare children for change

• Help a child “see” what you mean

• Build independence

• Move between environments, people and languages

• Retell events that they don’t have the verbal language for

• Communicate their likes and needs more clearly

We can do this through using emojis!

Where did you go on holiday?

Who was the story about?

How was your day?