I Phone/Touch App Recommendations

On a flight recently, a helpful passenger introduced me to an app for my iTouch for the kids and since then it has made my life much easier. It was Duck Duck Moose's Wheels on the Bus and since then I added the Old MacDonald app. They absolutely adore it. So what other apps are out there that are great for two to three year olds that I don't know about?

Here is the other question I have. My daughter loves it much more than her brother, and sometimes we let her play with it before bedtime instead of looking at books. Now she wants to play with it at bedtime every night. Would you let her? I generally don't expose my children to television, let alone electronic gadgets, so this seems contradictory to me. However, I realize that the way that things are in life, she will eventually be exposed to and use all sorts of these things. So how do you teach a toddler moderation? Time how long she has it before bed? Or just let her have this one indulgence? I'd love your thoughts.

 

honestly, I wouldn't let her. I let my daughter play with my iPod a bit and now have pretty much removed it from her "world." I know these apps are engaging and "educational" but my personal belief is that your children's time is better spent with tactile objects (blocks and books).

And, i do view the iPod, iPad, etc as another "screen" and I lump it in with TV time. Since we do limit TV time, for us this would fall into that category and I would just rather not have to regulate one more item in their life. We let them read as much as they want. I know I'm probably in the minority, but these are the choices we try to make for our family.

 

My DH has an iPad, and he has a touch and color app and a talking robot app that the kids like. Color & Draw Roby the Robot

At first, the kids wanted to play with it all the time. So we put it away and didn't let them see it or play with it for a month. Since then we've re-introduced it, but we save it for special occasions. Like when my DS had allergy testing done, I brought it along to distract him. Or when we have to wait for DD to get out of dance class, I'll bring it along for him to play with.

Over Thanksgiving, MIL let them watch YouTube videos on her iPhone. My DS demanded to watch Thomas on "grandma's phone" all weekend long. And of course, grandma obliged. It kept him very entertained, quiet, still, etc, but I do not want to make that a habit.

I personally wouldn't allow it before bed because I think that cuddling time while reading books is very special and very different than engaging with an electronic toy. Plus the backlit screen can make it harder for her to fall asleep. (There are studies that show using a computer before bed can make it harder to fall asleep.) I'd try to keep it as a really special "just in case" kind of thing where you bring it out when you really need to keep her occupied and happy, but not something that is a regular part of your toys/play time.

 

Probably one of the best apps I have found is Teach Me Kindergarten. My kids rarely play on the computer or on my Ipod. I, too, view it as TV time and just don't allow much time on it at all. When I do let them play, they get one hour, tops, to split between them. I find much more than that to over stimulate them and they are just out of control for me. I would much rather their time be spent on imaginative play or something else. i don't think playing on the computer, or ipod, or video games is bad, I'm just an "all things in moderation" type person, so I really limit their access to it.

 

I totally agree with Rachel. But wanted to add that, like another pp, I wouldn't personally allow it at bedtime instead of reading books. For me, encouraging a love of reading is way more important & valuable than time spent looking at a screen. Not to mention, the valuable time spent cuddling while reading! :wub:

 

I got Roby the Robot and he's excellent! i thought it was just teaching them to type game but actually he repeats what you say and dances etc. We've all had a go haahhahaa

 

My kids love the 5 Little Monkeys app. There is also a shape app that is responsible for my two year olds knowing what a rhombus is. That said, we do limit it a lot, and I wouldn't replace books with tech.

 

I agree with the PP that I wouldn't let them use it at night. Mine love the toddler teasers app. I think it's the one Rachael mentioned with shapes, and we ended up buying the full app (.99 cents) and it has colors, shapes, letters and numbers and my kids LOVE it!

 

Teach me kindergarten
Monkey lunchbox
Sneezes
Pet playpen