Best Child Friendly Apps.

My kids just love travelling in the car. You can hear my sarcasm, right? We tried everything. Bribery, lollies (sugar = A BAD IDEA), books, colouring in, those cheap games where they loose all the little bits and finally the good ol’ back-of-the-seat-rest in car DVD player. Finally, the DVD player worked. Until both parents have heard Elmo count how many times a Hippo can jump on a pogo stick over and over and over and the DVD magically flys out the window.

In case you’re wondering, its 16 times, according to Elmo.

So, what’s better in the car than an in-car DVD player? The iPad.

Endless possibilities. It holds both games and movies. And the parents can lock it so the toddler can’t constantly press the Home button and exit the screen. Guided Access = FANTASTIC IDEA!! (find more info here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5509?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US) There is a Top 10 list I’ve compiled – a few apps that I’ve seen my kids enjoy and some recommendations from other Mums out there!

1. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox by THUP Games: I have watched both my kids enjoy this app and noticed it’s great for different stages. My 2 year old loves the puzzles and puts them together in minutes although my son at the same age was better at different aspects of the game. Theres shape recognition, counting, memory, puzzles and more! – $1.99

2. Monkey Math School Sunshine by THUP Games: Another THUP app, this one is better for the Kindy/Prep age kids. Including number recognition, counting, addition and patterns this app is a great starter into reading and identifying numbers. – $1.99

3. Toca Boca: Don’t bother trying to figure out which game by Toca Boca is good – just download them all! They have all been a big hit in my house, with my kids starting off in the cooking with Toca Kitchen Monsters and moving onto cleaning house with Toca House, building houses in Toca Builders then experimenting with Toca Lab. My 2 year old absolutely LOVES Toca Tea Party at the moment, which is a great app that I can join in and play with her while my 4 year old is obsessed with money and the idea of purchasing things, so Toca Store is his go-to. – $2.99 ea

4. Sago Mini Forest Flyer – A very interactive app where the child can ‘fly’ a cute little bird around the forest and interact with all the things there. From knocking the pines out of the tree, reading the paper, swimming in the pond to eating fire-breathing berries and singing it’s heart out. I love that this app doesn’t have any in app purchases or ads! –

5. Playschool Playtime – Guide Humpty Dumpty through his Birthday starting with wake up and breakfast to playing and blowing up balloons before bedtime. All the colour and music of Playschool and best of all – it’s FREE!

6. Mickey Mouse Paint and Play – Paint Mickey and Minney in their backgrounds and interact with the things around them. This app updates with a seasonal special often (Halloween and Christmas etc) and has other games built within it. At the more pricey end of kids apps, I find my 4 year old loves it and it encourages lots of artistic ability. – $5.49

7. Lego – How come I didn’t know about this one before!! This was a recommended one and knowing how much my kids LOVE Lego at the moment I can see it’ll be a big hit. Description features virtual building with Lego and friendly animations. Definitely on the to-try list for us! – FREE!

8. Shiny Bakery – I don’t know about you, but my kids LOVE cooking! They love measuring and stirring and licking the bowl clean, leaving chocolate smudged clothes and fingerprints all over my kitchen. This is a great app where they can learn more about counting and what goes into baking. Having to count out the number of eggs, milk etc and then share the finished product between animated characters, I know both my kids enjoy this one! – $2.99

9. Mr Potato Head – I was recommended this one from a group of mothers and it looks perfect for the 2 year old in my family. She’s right into sorting and creating at the moment, so being able to create her very own Mr Potato Head is something she’d definitely enjoy! – $5.49

10.Talking Ginger – you know those seriously annoying apps where the animated animal will repeat what ever is said back to them? This is one of those, but think of it this way – speech development. It’s instant feedback for a child and bonus, they think it’s hilarious! Even better they’re FREE!

But as the Apple motto goes – There’s an App for that. What ever you can think of, it’s portably already out there and waiting for your child to explore. The lists are limitless, so just log into your account and find what’s best for you.

What’s your favourite Child Friendly App?