We have all been there…you just need 20 minutes without your 2 year old climbing on top of you while you try and brush your teeth (yay! small victory) or you are in a doctor’s office and your 3 year old is about to have a complete meltdown from boredom. What do you do? Well in today’s digital world you whip out your smartphone or tablet and boom! – problem solved. It’s so easy, convenient and it actually works! And fortunately for you, research has actually said that finding the right interactive apps doesn’t cause any harm and actually helps foster creativity and learning. Double boom! So pay attention Moms and open up the iTunes store or Google Play and download these must have apps to have on your devices.
Five Best FREE Apps
- YouTube Kids – in February YouTube launched its kids app and all was right with the world. Between the crazy unboxing videos and kid friendly shows available it’s a no-brainer to download this app. Plus it has parent friendly features like a timer you can set and content monitoring so you know your littles are not watching anything inappropriate for them. It’s completely free and it’s available in both the Apple iTunes and Google Play.
- Fisher Price Apps – I have been a long time favorite of the Fisher Price family of apps. They are free, cute, kept my toddler engaged and are educational. They offer a variety of apps for babies and toddlers for both iTunes and Google Play.
- Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head – a top downloaded and well rated app Mr. and Mrs. Potato head bring to life the classic toy with a variety of accessories to play with. It lets your kids imagination run wild with endless fun. Unfortunately it only exists for Apple users but it’s worth a download.
- Caillou Search and Count – this is a great education app while mixing in plenty of fun so your kids have no idea that they are learning! There are a variety of games from finding hidden objects to counting. While this one does have in-app purchases (which I usually loathe) the base app is worth it. Check out the other Caillou apps as well, they are all pretty good.
- PBS Kids – available for both Apple and Android the PBS Kids app offers all of the educational shows your kids love in an interactive way. You won’t feel guilty for letting them have a little screen time if you have this app.
Three Top Paid Apps
- abricot games puzzle – the more interactive the better and puzzles are hard to beat for my daughter. This app offers really cool puzzle imagery and has puzzles in a variety of levels (12 piece, 24 piece etc) At $1.99 it’s not too pricey for the hours of quiet time you will get.
- Elmo Calls – this app has been a favorite for a couple years and they just keep improving it. My 3.5 yr old likes it and my 7 month old giggles at it too. Everybody has fun when they get a phone call from Elmo! $2.99 and available for both Apple and Android.
- Peekabo Barn – this simple and fun vocabulary app will help teach your toddlers new words while also making them laugh and sing. It’s simple to use, has very cute graphics and isn’t too pricey at $1.99. Available for both Apple and Android.
BONUS! Top Apps for Moms (we get to have fun too)
- OneDay – I absolutely love this app! It’s an app that makes creating home videos of your kids, life etc. SO easy. It prompts you with certain questions and milestones to film, offers super simple editing tools and even adds music. Perfect for creating beautiful memories.
- Any.Do – a simple, sleek and powerful To-Do app is on any Mom’s must have list and Any.Do is perfection. It keeps your daily, weekly and monthly tasks organized and even syncs across all your devices. Life saver!
- Artkive – genius, pure genius! Is your fridge overflowing with the latest artwork from your little Picasso’s? Do you feel guilty when you throw away that piece of paper with a couple glued on cotton balls and a few marker scribbles? This is your answer. This app allows you to take pictures of your kids artwork, organize it by date and child and then even make a book out of it. Genius! Available on iTunes for $4.99 and free on Google Play.
New apps are always coming out so keep your apps fresh by visiting the app stores and checking out their top lists. You can see what’s the most popular by finding the top downloaded apps in the Kids category.
I am always looking for a new app to add to my toolbox so tell me, what is your favorite go-to app for your kids?
Hi Hallie,
Growing up in Colorado we always had lots of snow time for the holidays but later when I moved to California, I missed the snow activities during Christmas. Then I thought of all the kids who wouldn’t necessarily be near snow during Christmas and it made me a bit sad that they wouldn’t get to go sledding and snowmen. So my designer friend I who both love making apps decided it would be fun to make a Mr. Potatoe head type app that uses snowman parts instead. We just made it for free, the love of it, so there are no in app purchases or ads. There are many improvements we’d like to make but should see if there is an audience first. Could you please let us know what you and Molly think if you get a chance this holiday and want to get snowman creative despite the lack of snow. Although you never know in Dallas. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas.
Best wishes,
Alexander Levy
[email protected]
PS.. No need to publish my message as it is more of an email then a comment.
Thanks so much, happy holiday!
Best wishes,
Alexander