I think for a toddler’s mom the Smartphone is the greatest Invention EVER!!!!. The iPhones and the Android phones with their latest free Apps can be a lifesaver especially if you sense your toddler is heading for a toddler tantrum meltdown and distract him. These Apps are also handy while you are out with your fidgety toddler in a doctor’s clinic, a really nice restaurant or a long long flight.
Android-based phones have captured nearly 50% of the market share and will go strong for the time to come, one of the reasons for this is their dynamic Market for Apps, constantly innovating and upgrading. Almost all the paid Applications also have their Lite versions which are free and are as feature-rich as their paid versions apart from a few premium features.
There are tons of Free Android Applications in the Android Market that you can download to entertain your toddler and also help them in their learning and education.
As a digital Mom, my Top 5 favourite and Free Android Apps to keep a toddler busy are
WHERE’S MOMMY
Developer: Pitashi
Description: Where’s Mommy” is a kid’s seek-and-match game that can be customized with your own photos and audio recordings.
Why I Love it: It can be completely customized, you can use your own pictures from your phone and your own voice for all the recordings. The preloaded and downloadable image packs pretty much cover hundreds of new words, so it is way better than flashcards. Also since you can record your own voice for the clues you can use any language you want. Samaira stays glued to the game for a long time and each time she completes a grid of pictures, it shows a loud congratulatory message which gives a sense of achievement to her.
KIDS PIANO LITE
Developer: Sunny Day
Description: A Lovely Eight Tone Piano for Kids
Why I love it: It has an Auto Music mode which makes it like a music box. There are options for various skins for the Piano. The best thing about the Kids Piano is that you can choose the Song that you want to play like ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and the Piano will show the Keys to press for that song in the sidebar. It is magical to see when a toddler finds out that the keys they are pressing are actually a song they know. There is also a baby mode that will turn off ads.
KIDS SOCKS
Developer: Mimoteo
Description: A game where the kid has to drag the socks with the same colour and pattern to match.
Why I love it: In a short time, my daughter was able to differentiate between Polka Dots and Stars patterns on various socks. It really enhances their pattern and colour identification skills. There is also a baby mode in which you just need to touch instead of drag to make a match. If you are trying to switch your child from nappies to underpants, you can activate the Underpants mode so that it will show Underpants along with Socks. Just another friendly reminder for your child that underpants are fun.
TALKING FRIENDS-BEN, TOM, SANTA, GINA ETC
Developer: Outfit 7
Description: A Talking Friend that responds to your touch.
Why I Love it: Talking Tom Cat was the first one in the series and its HUUUGGGGEEE success paved the way for other talking friends. Although the basic premise is the same, you can talk to the Friend and it repeats in a funny voice and you can touch or poke them, I like the fact that in each Talking Friend they introduced new features. For Example, in Talking Santa there is gift bag from which Santa pulls out a new gift every time you touch it. In Talking Ben, there is a chemistry Lab in which Ben can mix some chemicals to yield hilarious results and in Talking Gina you can aid the Giraffe in dancing using synchronized touches on the screen. Samaira has loved each and every one of the Talking Friends. There is also an option for turning off Violence so that your toddler can’t hit the talking Friend.
KIDS PAINT
Developer: Virtual GS
Description: A Simple and interesting Painting program for Kids.
Why I Love it: You are with your toddler at a friends’ house and he/she suddenly wants to do colouring. What do you do? Whip out your smartphone and put on Kids Paint. The child can draw art with random colours and simply shake the screen to wipe off the design and start afresh. You can also load existing pictures on your phone to colour and also import your kid’s drawings to your phone.
Do Let me know if you have used these Applications for your kids and your experience with them? Do you think I have left out some great Applications, let me know through your comments. If you have not Liked us on Facebook or joined us through Google Friend Connect, please do so through the sidebar.