8/9/10 year olds lockdown communication!

[Blackbear19]

How are your 8/9/10/11 year olds who don't have phones communicating with their friends?

We've tried zoom which seemed to work well.
But just wondering what your kids are using.

My 10yo mainly communicates with his friends through his headset while gaming. He would normally have got a phone for his 11th birthday but we got him one early (in the circumstances) but actually he hardly uses it. He's used House Party (which is like zoom) a few times.

My son plays games with them on his switch. He's FaceTimed one of them because that's the only parent we have a phone number for.

My 10 year old DS, talks to some of his friends on his Xbox, others we plan walks past their houses or they pass our house, so they can have a 10 minute socially distanced chat, it's important that they still talk to their mates.

Roblox mainly?

My 11 yo contacts her best friend through games like Township and Animal Camp. My 8 yo has had one Zoom meet up with her classmates.

Letters full of faces of tears and I miss you in the letter box! Ditto pictures, bracelets, chocolates, random craft creations.
We tried a Skype but neither could figure out what to say to each other. One is 7, one is 8. They did send each other lots of emojis over my and her mums phone.

Fortnite with a headset, FaceTime either on his own iPad or using my phone ('hello Mrs Smith, is Charlie allowed to talk?'), doorstep chats, Zoom, Houseparty.

If you live somewhere fairly rural or with good open spaces, could you perhaps bump into a school friend when you're having a walk and continue the walk together? Socially distancing of course.

Keep them talking to each other, it's important.

My dd spends hours on FT with her friend doing Lego stuff, organising soft toy competitions etc. DS has, had a couple if chats but boys do seem slightly less good at it. He doesn't online game very much.

And yes to Roblox, lots of chatting there as well

My 8 year old (yr4)has been using my messenger app and has groups created with her friends in so they face time or send little messages. She also plays roblox with one of her friends.

Hes 9, and we tried Facetime with his cousin 8 and really they didn't know what to say to each other.
His zoom chat with his friend was more successful.

We were a bit wary of putting zoom on his own tablet. But might do and just keep a close eye on it.

I've also caved and bought an xbox which should arrive in a couple of days. It seems to be the platform of choice for his pals.

9 year old son FaceTimes his friend and they play Roblox on other devices alongside the facetime.

9 year old daughter FaceTimes her friend and they talk about the craft stuff they've made, show each other random stuff from their rooms etc. They also make goody bags for each other which get dropped off on doorsteps by exercising parents or parents driving to food shop etc. Goody bags have all sorts in them; letters, homemade bracelets, pictures, craft constructions, bookmarks, small party-bag-tat gifts etc.

Driveway chats on a walk, zoom/FaceTime (often while they play the same game on their switches), Roblox, Zoom quizzes, email. Email has prob been the least successful (they are all 8) as they send quite illiterate emoji filled messages, except one child who sends beautifully written emails and gets huge amounts of emojis back!

The 8 year old doesnt really. The odd email on a school account, and the odd message through me when I chat with his friends mum. But he's a pretty insular chap anyway.
10 yr old has been emailing his friends from his old school (we moved last summer), and got a phone last week, which has opened up WhatsApp to the local kids. Before that, he was isolated from his new mates. Weve also bumped into one friend several times, and they have chatted then.

Xbox for DS, Houseparty for DD

My 8yo isn’t really. They’ve zoom called in a group a couple of times but it’s all a bit chaotic.

Occasional 2 sentence long emails. Tried zoom but she didn't like it (I can see her point, I hate zoom too) and they didn't have much to say to each other. DH was supposed something out so she can join her friends in mine craft and chat to them there but he didn't and I know nothing about mine craft.
DC, who are 9 and 5, keep in touch with DN, who is also 9, most days by skyping him while they all play mine craft separately.

There was a flurry of houseparty chats at first, they've all given up on that and it's dwindled down to a few minutes once a week using my WhatsApp. We don't have a string enough Internet connection to have online gaming so no chance there.

On his game console and fortnite. The odd Skype class call.

Playing Roblox on one device whilst being in a group zoom call 😳 so they can talk to each other.
Otherwise FaceTime to other friends, writing letters and delivering.

Roblox, FaceTime and something called Gatcha Life?? All rules on screen time have gone out of the window since lockdown. They do their home learning without much fuss till about 1pm and then they are glued to their screens till I log off in the evening. It allows me to work uninterrupted and I’ve long past feeling guilty.

My 10 year old has a phone so uses that and the headset on Xbox.

Roblox and Skype here, screen time rules totally up the swanky. A lot of fun and laughter though so I think its been a god send really.

Our school uses google classrooms so they have been using google hangouts to message and video call as they were all given a gmail account! Plus zoom. Honestly, they are never off it!

Plus the teacher holds a virtual google meet every week.

Oh my, so many things, apps, that I've never heard off, Zoom I was introduced to at start of lockdown. House party, gatcha life, google hangout - what? .

I'd actually forgotten about Skype.

Thanks you've certainly given me a few ideas to go and check out. Initially I was WFH and really struggled. It's only since I've been furloughed that I have headspace to deal with sorting out DSs access to a social life, but I now feel guilty that I've not done it before.