My iPhone is a never-ending supply of entertainment and distraction for Adelaide. Like most babies, she was interested in whatever mommy and daddy had in our hands, so at a very early age, Adelaide learned how to use our iPhone. Over the past two years we’ve tried out A LOT of different iPhone apps aimed at toddlers so I thought I’d share some of our favorites!
Alpha Baby
iPhone or iPad
Age: 6+ months
Free – $0.99
Pretty fabulous. We downloaded this free game for our computer when Adelaide was only a few months old, and we were thrilled to see it in the App Store as well. On the computer, baby can hit any key on the keyboard and it populates a shape, number or letter on the screen and then says the item’s name aloud. On the phone, every time baby taps the screen, a new number, shape or letter appears (along with its name) and then baby can move the shape around the screen and make it grow, shrink or rotate. We’re pretty sure this app played a big role in teaching Adelaide to recognize and name her letters and numbers. The $0.99 version allows parents to create custom sets of letters, shapes, numbers or photos and save them for use when their child uses the app. It’s a neat add on, but the main enjoyment of the app is available in the free version. I highly recommend downloading this app and letting your little one play away!
Doodle Buddy
iPhone
Age: 6+ months
Free
I didn’t do any research before downloading this app, so there are probably better doodle apps out there, but this one has worked for us for the past two years! It’s pretty simple, not much to figure out. Your finger doodles on the screen in whatever color you select. This app also has a selection of “stamps” (small icon type images) that can be placed anywhere in your drawing. Oh, and they make sounds too…which is probably their main appeal. Fun for all ages!
Old MacDonald
iPad Only
Age: 6+ months
$1.99
Super fun app that has the song “Old MacDonald” playing in the background of each interactive picture. Baby gets to tap away, exploring the components of the image and figuring out what each one does. Obviously, a farm theme, but by no means your traditional farm scenes. Adelaide goes back to this one again and again. It’s a good one!
Wheels on the Bus
iPad Only
Age: 6+ months
$1.99
From the creators of Old MacDonald, this game has the same concept except it takes place on a bus! Adelaide actually seems to like this one more than its farm counterpart, but I couldn’t tell you why. Another super fun way to pass the time with a little one.
Splish Splash Inn
iPhone or iPad
Age: 12+ months
$1.99
Pretty simple app—it has 10 doors, each numbered, and when a door is selected you “go inside that room”. Each room has a number of underwater animals in it, the number that was on the door. The app counts each animal and then names the animal. Then, the animals can be tapped and moved around the screen, and each time they’re touched they make different musical noises. Adelaide was a huge fan of this game when she was around 12 months old, but she’s pretty bored with it now. I still definitely recommend it for the 1-year-old crowd, though!
Fish School
iPad Only
Age: 12+ months
$1.99
Another one from the creators of Old MacDonald. This one, however, is much less fun and more educational. It maintains the beautiful graphic style of their other games, but in this one the activity is simply swiping from letter to letter or number to number as you go through the alphabet or count from 1-20. Adelaide’s favorite part of this game is popping the bubbles and hearing the little kid’s voice count from 1-20. Not a huge hit, but definitely one that keeps her busy when she’s in the right mood.
Jellytoons – Bobo’s Birthday Challenge and Birthday Countdown
iPhone or iPad
Age: 18+ months
$ 0.99 – $2.99
I was tipped off to Jellytoons by Cool Mom Picks and have not been disappointed! We bought Birthday Challenge in March 2011, followed by Birthday Countdown in July and they were both Adelaide’s go-to games for MONTHS. She still loves to play them, just not exclusively. Birthday Countdown is in a story book format where each of the pages has an interactive element. The book can be read to your child or you can turn this option off. Birthday Challenge is much more interactive. Your child chooses the activity by tapping a character on the main page, and then tries to complete the challenge (challenges utilize fine motor skills as well as shape/color identification and counting). Once they complete the challenge they are rewarded with a “sticker”. They can then go to a special room to view all of their stickers and “stick” them to the screen. These games are definitely for the older tot crowd, maybe 18 months+? Hours of fun!
FreeFall Spelling
iPhone and iPad
Age: 18+ months
$0.99
This is our most recent app purchase (bought this week!) and I am impressed! I love the adorable illustration style and the concept is so simple and easy to execute that Adelaide doesn’t even realize she’s learning. The app shows an image of an object and the name of that object in grey letters. Then, the same letters, only in color, begin floating down from the top of the screen and the child has to grab the letter and move it to its proper place in the word. The app names the letters and once the word is filled in, the app says the word aloud. What a fun way to start word recognition! The preferences for the game allow you to turn off the grey letters at the bottom of the screen, so when our little speller gets more advanced, she won’t have any hints and will have to spell the word all on her own. Super cool app!
Hair Salon
iPhone and iPad
Age: 2+ years
$0.99
I got this app for free when it was being promoted, and it looks like it’s back to $0.99 now, but regardless, Adelaide has a lot of fun playing this game. You get to choose your client (the illustration style is so funky-cool!) and then mess with that client’s hair! There are tools that let you cut, shave, grow, comb, blow and color the hair any way you wish. Sound effects can be obnoxious when the volume is too loud, but I get a kick out of the client’s pre-programed responses after you complete a look. Most of them are dissaproving. HA! Pretend to be the stylist you always wanted to be!
Robot Lab
iPhone and iPad
Age: 2+ years
$0.99
I saw the word “robot” in the title, then saw that it was by the same people who made Hair Salon, and I clicked the “purchase” button. Didn’t even read reviews. I guess I got lucky…but whats not to love about robots!?! Anyhow, Adelaide is a die-hard robot fan, and in this app she gets to build her own robot and then fly that robot through obstacle courses, collecting stars and trying to find the exit. Pretty fun stuff! She even lets Matt and I play occasionally. Definitely requires motor and comprehension skills of an older toddler, but super fun once they “get it”.
Faces I Make
iPhone and iPad
Age: 2.5+ years
$1.99
This app comes super highly recommended by just about everyone, and I can definitely see why. The app is filled with all kinds of random objects and you get to put them together to create any face you like! The creativity is endless! It’s for an older-than-2 crowd, though. Adelaide loves to flip through the gallery of faces made by other people, but I can’t get her to make her own silly face. It might be too abstract of a concept for her still. Matt and I have fun making faces, though! And I’m sure Adelaide will grow into it.
Pre-K Letters and Numbers
iPhone and iPad
Age: 2.5+
Free – $1.99
This purely educational app is designed to teach letters, words, numbers and phonetics and an engaging way. It’s a bit over Adelaide’s head, but she’s starting to pick up the skills required for some of the activities. The free app has access to the letters A, B, C and numbers 1, 2, 3, but you’ll need to buy the full app for access to everything else. The app works by showing and saying the letter or number, followed by a series of “steps” to follow in order to write the letter. The child has to use their finger to move from one number to the next and accurately trace that number or letter. Once complete a word and corresponding picture appear showing that letter as the first letter in a word. You have to pretty precise in order to proceed to the next letter. When we first downloaded this app, I was sure Adelaide would get frustrated with it and not play it at all. To my delight, however, she has continued to attempt the activities and has actually mastered the tracing of the letters! Looks like it’s time to upgrade to the full version. In addition to the entire list of letters and numbers, the full version of the app also unlocks a phonetics game and a report card function, that allows parents to track their kids progress as they play. I’ll have to do an update after we’ve unlocked these features to let you know if it’s worth it or not!
Do you have any experience with great iPhone or iPad apps that you’d recommend? I’m always looking to try out some new apps!
I'd love to hear what you think!