I am going to preface this post by saying that I truly believe that too much screen time for a child can be detrimental and that we feel very strongly about making sure our child plays outside and uses her imagination to the fullest for the longest she can. We want her to stay a kid as long as possible and definitely do not want her face plastered to a screen at an early age. With that being said, I also believe that screens are the future for our children. It's inevitable whether we like it or not. They will be raised and taught on tablets and computers. I do feel like books will still have a strong presence in Georgia's life as well, but the nature of the beast that is technology is that our kids will be using them at a very early age.
So lately Georgia has been showing an interest in our phones. It's kind of a monster that we created ourselves being that we use our phones in front of her, maybe sometimes too much, and she sees that so she wants them. Very rarely do I ever give her my phone to play with, one because she has already FaceTime'd with someone I haven't really spoken to since college (not in a bad way just grew up, got married, got jobs, families, etc.), and two because I don't want her to be plastered to a phone screen all the time when she has plenty of toys and books of her own and hopefully soon we can get her outside once the weather makes up its mind and we finally get some warm weather.
I ended up giving G our old iPad. It doesn't take updates anymore because it's so old but it works fine still it's just a little slow. It's still on iOS 9. It works well for her because it's obviously bigger than a phone and it's not as easy for her to get into things she shouldn't (like calling) because there are only a few apps on it. So far there are only a few apps that she uses, most of which are entirely educational.
Fisher Price Laugh & Learning Letter Monkey
If you search Fisher Price in your App Store there are tons of them. Georgia's favorite most used app is the Learning Letters Monkey. It does letters, numbers, shapes, and songs. It's definitely the one she prefers over any other. The songs are cute and catchy and the colors are bright with very cute & simple illustrations.
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Shapes & Colors
This one is great too. It has 2 levels, level 1 is colorful shapes with little faces and they bounce all over the screen and play music. Level 2 is similar but it also has a colorful piano that they can make their own songs with.
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Animal Sounds
This was the first app I ever bought for Georgia when she was like 8 months old just to play the sounds for her. She never showed an interest in the phone or the app at that time but now this is one of her favorites. It's also got 2 levels and plays through different animals like Lion, Monkey, Bear, Goat, Frog, etc. There are literally tons of FP apps, these 3 are free, some are paid, but they are all geared towards learning and these are some of our favorites.
Baby Bubbles
This one isn't really "educational" but it's fun for G. She likes to pop the colorful bubbles that appear on the screen. The downside to this is it doesn't hold her attention very long, but I think as she gets older it will be one to keep her occupied in a pinch if we need it! The nice thing about it is it has no adds or interface so there is nothing else they can accidentally press to take them out of the app. It also has sounds and the bubbles are different colors.
Kids Doodle – Movie Kids Color & Draw
This app is fun! It's just a blank drawing board with fun neon colors that change each time you take your finger away and then put it back down. It also has a video function that plays back the steps they took to draw their picture like a movie. There's also a gallery with this so you can save your work and go back if you want. I think I like this app more than Georgia but I know it will be one she will start to enjoy as she gets older. Again, not as educational as the FP apps, but drawing is always fun & I think it's a great way to be creative.
Sometimes it's just easier when we are cooped up in the house because of a lingering winter, or we are on a long flight, or our kids are just being assholes, to hand them the phone or tablet for the sake of everyone's sanity. What are your favorite apps for your kiddos?