The instant messages of a five-year-old
Categories: Kids 5-7, Education
Last week, Jared was home sick one day from school. It was nothing serious; basically, he'd had a fever the night before. He hadn't wanted lunch after swim class, but to lie down instead. We took him home and he just lazed about and slept all afternoon while I did the marketing.
By the evening, his temperature was up to 101 and change. The fever broke, but as a teacher, Rachel knew he needed to stay home at least 24 hours after the fever broke. So, I worked from home and he stayed downstairs reading and watching television. My mother-in-law came over for the morning and stayed with him. After she left for a meeting, he hung out in our bedroom where he helped himself to Rachel's laptop and AOL's Instant Messaging service.
So, he and I chatted back and forth while I worked. After the break, an excerpt...
[11:38] Jared: daddy what are we haveing for dinner tonight daddy
[11:38] Daddy: I'm not sure. What would you like?
[11:41] Jared: hotdog
[11:41] Daddy: Okay
We ended up having something else since we were out of buns.
[11:44] Jared: i love you daddy
[11:44] Daddy: I love you too!
[11:45] Daddy: Eat your soup
[11:45] Daddy: It's good for you.
[11:50] Jared: im em eating my soup
[11:51] Daddy: Good! I love you very, very much!
I made him some soup for lunch -- always a good choice when sick.
[12:13] Jared: i love you very very much too
[12:15] Daddy: Thank you!
[12:17] Jared: no thank you
[12:19] Daddy: Was the soup yummy?
[12:20] Jared: yes
[12:20] Daddy: I'm glad
[12:23] Jared: im glad too
Apparently, he liked it.
[13:56] Jared: daddy i love you very very much
[13:56] Daddy: I love you too! I love you very, very much!
[13:58] Jared: your my best buddy
[13:59] Daddy: You're my best buddy too, Buddy!
[13:59] Daddy: You're a very special boy!
[14:00] Jared: your my best daddy
[14:01] Daddy: Thank you!
[14:03] Jared: thank you too
I get the award! Yay!
[14:15] Jared: daddy can we go camping agen
[14:15] Daddy: Yes, next spring
[14:15] Jared: good
[14:29] Jared: cood we go too the place we went last time
[14:31] Daddy: yes
[14:38] Jared: this time cood we go in 21 this time
[14:38] Daddy: We'll see.
Someone else got site 21.
[14:38] Daddy: By the way, could is spelled "COULD".
[14:39] Daddy: As in, "COULD we go in 21 this time"
[14:39] Daddy: WOULD and SHOULD are spelled the same way.
[14:46] Jared: daddy i love you very very very very much
[14:46] Daddy: And I love you!
[14:52] Jared: could me and jake have a play dayt
[14:53] Daddy: "Could Jake and I have a play date?" ("me" is an object and thus can't have anything. "I" is a subject and can.)
[14:53] Daddy: Yes, we will plan for that.
[14:53] Daddy: Not this weekend, but the next one, I think.
[14:54] Jared: good
Everything can be a learning experience.
[15:12] Jared: daddy what is the dayt
[15:12] Daddy: The date when Jake will come over?
[15:13] Jared: no
[15:13] Daddy: Today?
[15:13] Jared: yes
[15:13] Daddy: Today is Wednesday, October 27, 2007.
[15:14] Jared: ok
[15:20] Jared: daddy what is the st
[15:21] Daddy: what is the what?
[15:23] Jared: what is the st
[15:24] Daddy: I'm not sure what you mean by ST .
[15:24] Jared: sreet
[15:24] Daddy: Street?
[15:25] Daddy: Our street is Paloma Avenue
[15:25] Jared: oh
My favorite part of all this is that he would holler like the dickens to get me to come downstairs and ask me how to spell something, then turn back to the computer and type it to me.
By the evening, his temperature was up to 101 and change. The fever broke, but as a teacher, Rachel knew he needed to stay home at least 24 hours after the fever broke. So, I worked from home and he stayed downstairs reading and watching television. My mother-in-law came over for the morning and stayed with him. After she left for a meeting, he hung out in our bedroom where he helped himself to Rachel's laptop and AOL's Instant Messaging service.
So, he and I chatted back and forth while I worked. After the break, an excerpt...
[11:38] Jared: daddy what are we haveing for dinner tonight daddy
[11:38] Daddy: I'm not sure. What would you like?
[11:41] Jared: hotdog
[11:41] Daddy: Okay
We ended up having something else since we were out of buns.
[11:44] Jared: i love you daddy
[11:44] Daddy: I love you too!
[11:45] Daddy: Eat your soup
[11:45] Daddy: It's good for you.
[11:50] Jared: im em eating my soup
[11:51] Daddy: Good! I love you very, very much!
I made him some soup for lunch -- always a good choice when sick.
[12:13] Jared: i love you very very much too
[12:15] Daddy: Thank you!
[12:17] Jared: no thank you
[12:19] Daddy: Was the soup yummy?
[12:20] Jared: yes
[12:20] Daddy: I'm glad
[12:23] Jared: im glad too
Apparently, he liked it.
[13:56] Jared: daddy i love you very very much
[13:56] Daddy: I love you too! I love you very, very much!
[13:58] Jared: your my best buddy
[13:59] Daddy: You're my best buddy too, Buddy!
[13:59] Daddy: You're a very special boy!
[14:00] Jared: your my best daddy
[14:01] Daddy: Thank you!
[14:03] Jared: thank you too
I get the award! Yay!
[14:15] Jared: daddy can we go camping agen
[14:15] Daddy: Yes, next spring
[14:15] Jared: good
[14:29] Jared: cood we go too the place we went last time
[14:31] Daddy: yes
[14:38] Jared: this time cood we go in 21 this time
[14:38] Daddy: We'll see.
Someone else got site 21.
[14:38] Daddy: By the way, could is spelled "COULD".
[14:39] Daddy: As in, "COULD we go in 21 this time"
[14:39] Daddy: WOULD and SHOULD are spelled the same way.
[14:46] Jared: daddy i love you very very very very much
[14:46] Daddy: And I love you!
[14:52] Jared: could me and jake have a play dayt
[14:53] Daddy: "Could Jake and I have a play date?" ("me" is an object and thus can't have anything. "I" is a subject and can.)
[14:53] Daddy: Yes, we will plan for that.
[14:53] Daddy: Not this weekend, but the next one, I think.
[14:54] Jared: good
Everything can be a learning experience.
[15:12] Jared: daddy what is the dayt
[15:12] Daddy: The date when Jake will come over?
[15:13] Jared: no
[15:13] Daddy: Today?
[15:13] Jared: yes
[15:13] Daddy: Today is Wednesday, October 27, 2007.
[15:14] Jared: ok
[15:20] Jared: daddy what is the st
[15:21] Daddy: what is the what?
[15:23] Jared: what is the st
[15:24] Daddy: I'm not sure what you mean by ST .
[15:24] Jared: sreet
[15:24] Daddy: Street?
[15:25] Daddy: Our street is Paloma Avenue
[15:25] Jared: oh
My favorite part of all this is that he would holler like the dickens to get me to come downstairs and ask me how to spell something, then turn back to the computer and type it to me.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joy 11-04-2007 @ 12:29PM
This is super cute and super sweet. Good job Roger. I'd print that out and put it somewhere safe and read it at his wedding reception. Stories like this get forgotten in time and this is way to cute to let "slip" off somewhere out of memory.
Reply
greta 11-04-2007 @ 1:49PM
That's great - and Joy's right, you should definitely keep those. We've been IM-ing and texting with our daughter since she turned four, even when she's sitting just a few feet away from us. We've found that she's much more willing to type out a few sentences on a computer or phone than to sit down and write them on paper.
Reply
Jill 11-04-2007 @ 3:59PM
Watching them learn to read is even better than learning to talk because you get to keep a written record of it all.
Reply
Eva 11-04-2007 @ 4:19PM
That's adorable!
Reply
Caelligh 11-04-2007 @ 11:33PM
I've encountered plenty of adults that would be put to shame by your five year-old's IMing skills.
Reply
Ann Adams 11-05-2007 @ 3:00PM
His language skills are wonderful for his age (or any age) and I admire the sentiments.
Reply