Are You Too Uncool to Converse With Your Kids? The SpeakEmoji App is Here to Help

In a year when emojis became a truly universal language, and the Oxford English Dictionary even named the "tears of joy" emoji as its word of the year, some unfortunate old-timers are still being left out of the conversation.

So, for parents struggling to communicate with their kids, SapientNitro has the answer: SpeakEmoji, the world's first voice-to-emoji translator app. All you have to do is tap the microphone and speak your message into your smartphone. You can then share the emoji version on social media, by SMS or email, and if the recipient isn't fluent in emoji, they can simply translate it back into text.

SapientNitro has created a festive film to reassure parents that SpeakEmoji will help them to break through their kids' "smartphone trance" and enjoy some quality family time this Christmas.

A desperate dad claims he is now "besties" with his kids, thanks to SpeakEmoji, plus a little help from his white skinny jeans and his Somatran hand-carved buffalo horn earloop. He tells viewers that they too can become "instantly fluent in this strange new language" and promises, "Now, not only will your kids listen to you again, they'll actually think you're pretty cool." SpeakEmoji is available for iPhone and Android.