Top iPhone and iPod Touch Applications for Children
What are your favorite iPhone or iPod Touch Apps for your kids?
Even though I've had an iPhone for a couple of years, I'm just starting to get into the apps. We try to be careful with the amount of time our kids spend on the computer/iPhone, but once in a while they get to play with our apps. Unfortunately, I have found that it is difficult to find good applications for kids. Whenever I'm with a group of moms or dads that have an iPhone, which tends to be more and more these days, the topic of good, kid-friendly iPhone apps seems to come up. I thought I'd create this hub for us parents to share our favorites. We have three girls (six, three, and one), so our favorites tend to be in this age range. Below are some of our favorites, and I hope that we can start a good list in the comments capsule to discover new apps for kids.
Top iPhone Apps for Kids under Two
I know it sounds crazy for a kid under two to use an iPhone application, but our one year old loves to look at the animals and hear animal sounds. I haven't found very many applications that are appropriate, but here are our favorites:
- Animal Fun: It has pictures of animals, says their name, and makes their sound. (FREE)
- Finger Piano: Play the piano randomly or follow the directions for older kids. (LITE VERSION IS FREE)
- Simple Draw: Draw with the touch of a finger (FREE)
- Zoo for Baby: The Freestyle mode shows pictures of animals and when you tap on them they make a sound. (FREE)
- Zoo Sounds: The free version has only 4 animals and sounds, the paid version (.99) has 12 animals.
Our Favorite iPhone and iPod Touch Applications
Top iPhone Applications for Toddlers Ages 2-4
Here are the best iPhone applications for our 3 year old that we have found. This age is really a sweet spot for applications. Please leave your favorites in the comments capsule!
- Shape Bulilder: The lite (free) version is great. It's a puzzle game where you put the correct shapes in the correct spots. (FREE)
- Jirbo Match: The girls really like the matching games; it's like memory. I'm sure there are others that are good too. (FREE)
- The Wheels on the Bus: Every toddler loves this song. This application sings the song and lets you interact with the characters. (.99 cents)
- Pocket Phonics: The lite version of this application only has 6 letters. It's worth getting the paid version on this application because it gives you many more options for sound blends, etc. I highly recommend this application for kids learning their letters and sounds.
- iWrite Words: Follow a little crab to write letters. Our three year old likes this letter making app too. (LITE version is FREE)
- First Words Sampler: You drag and drop letters to make a word. The lite version is great. (FREE)
- I Hear Ewe: animal sounds in a cute user interface. (FREE)
The Best iPhone Applications for Kids over the age of 4
The iPhone Applications for older kids can be very interesting. Our oldest daughter loves the following applications:
- Google Earth: This is a great application for kids and adults. (FREE)
- National Georgraphic Games: Jigsaw or Spot It! (FREE)
- Simon: Like the old school game where the four sections light up and you try to copy the pattern. (FREE)
- Scramble: making words from jumbled letters (FREE)
- Doodle Buddy: This is another drawing application for all ages (FREE)
- Tangram Puzzle Pro: This is a more advanced version of Shape Builder (.99 cents)
- The Fuzzy Fierce Peach: This a cute app that is more like a book than a game. ($1.99)
