Hi mrs195,
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. I understand you're having issues when you use the emoji keyboard.
Something you may be able to try to is removing the emoji keyboard and then re adding it.
You can find the instructions to that in this article:
Use international keyboards on iPhone
Specifically the steps:
- "Remove a keyboard: Tap Edit, tap  next to the keyboard you want to remove, tap Delete, then tap Done.
- Add a keyboard:Â Tap Add New Keyboard, then choose a keyboard from the list. Repeat to add more keyboards."
There are also a few options under Settings > General > Reset that may help you here's an article that explains what these each do.
Return iPhone settings to their defaults
Have a great day!