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etollive

macrumors newbie
Mar 17, 2012
1
0
I like almost all of the Toca Boca games. My girls(3 and 6) love the tea party and the kitchen app. Also, if you have Dora fans, there are a series of Dora games that are fun and educational.:p
 

redman042

macrumors 68040
Jun 13, 2008
3,051
1,629
My three year old loves the "My Name" app. Teaches her to write the letters of her name and other letters and numbers.

I'm totally with you guys on the benefits of iOS devices for kids, and the benefits to parents who want to go out to dinner (given that going out to dinner is otherwise practically hopeless for a 2-4 year old). I don't see any harm, and for those that do, I simply don't care what you think. Please start a new thread if you want to get on the soapbox.

Looking forward to more app recommendations especially for 3-4 year olds.
 

Tedddman

macrumors member
Apr 6, 2011
96
0
All the Monkey games are excellent:

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox
Monkey When I Grow Up
Monkey Math
 

redman042

macrumors 68040
Jun 13, 2008
3,051
1,629
I'll add that all the apps by Duck Duck Moose are excellent. So is Zoo train.
 

TechJunky

macrumors regular
Jul 25, 2008
158
0
Don't know what's up with all the hate for iPads and toddlers. I think the interaction is way better than just feeding information with tv and movies.

My 2, soon to be 3 year old enjoys these:
Miss Spider's Tea Party
Miss Spider's Bedtime Story
Nighty Night! HD
Crayola Lights Camera Color
Wood Puzzle Maze HD
Alien Buddies -probably her fav

Apps she liked when she was slightly younger on iPhone:
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox
Duck Duck Moose apps
Ice Cream!

When she was about 18mos, maybe younger, we used "Toddler Flashcards". And I am convinced she truly learned how to count using "Toddler Counting."
 
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Melrussell

macrumors newbie
Mar 24, 2012
1
0
Here's some we like

Fruit Ninja
In The Night Garden
Animal Hide and Seek Adventure
Itsy Bitsy Spider HD
Old MacDonald Had A Farm
Little Charley Bear
Lego Duplo Zoo
Toddler Piano
Let Baby Play
Smelly Sprout
Play School Art Maker
Talking Pierre

As you can see I'm a bad parent too. My 20 month old loves these. Have fun
 

jlicht75

macrumors newbie
Aug 15, 2012
1
0
Regarding Piggies quote above:

You dont have to let your toddler use the ipad often. However, there are occasions like long car or plane rides, when you are happy to occupy your busy toddler for an hour or two. We have travelled to Europe a few times and know what we are talking about.
Btw. Peakabok farm is a fun app for 18 months and older.
 

epramono

macrumors newbie
Mar 31, 2011
3
0
20 Recommended Apps for 1-2 Year Olds

As a part of celebrating my 1-year old's birthday, I put together a list of 20 recommended iPad apps for 1-year old toddlers like my Noah. I put them into 6 categories, i.e. language (alphabets), reading, math, science (animals), musical and miscellaneous.

Language (alphabets)
  • Akzara
  • Alien Buddies
  • Fish School HD
  • Goodnight ABC
  • LetterSchool

Reading
  • Cocoons and Caterpillars
  • Even Monsters Get Sick
  • Little Star
  • Pixel and Parker
  • Puss in Boots - Great Adventure
  • Toy Story Read-Along

Math
  • Alien Buddies
  • Fish School HD
  • LetterSchool
  • Little Digits
  • TallyTots

Animal
  • ABC Wildlife
  • Akzara
  • AnimalTrackHD

Musical
  • Dr. Seuss Band
  • Fish School HD
  • Little Fox Music Box
  • TallyTots

Miscellaneous
  • Alien Buddies
  • Fish School HD
  • Timmy Tickle
  • Toca Doctor HD
  • Toca Robot Lab

If you want to know more about the reasonings behind the categories I make and why each app are listed in each category, I suggest you to read my 2,700+ words here:
http://www.geekswithjuniors.com/blog/2012/8/27/20-recommended-apps-for-1-year-olds.html
 

Lucyramsey

macrumors newbie
Sep 3, 2012
1
0
I can't help but wonder how misguided parents are letting young children play with things like this.
Sure it may seem like it's good, but is it?
Is it teaching real world creativity, and real world skills, patience, rewards, or instant gratification?

I'd rather children be creative in the real world with real things using their hands than to stare at a flat screen tapping on things.

I'm guessing there's very little research around to tell you what they long term consequences are of introducing these things at such a young age.

I worry, whilst it might seem like it's a good idea, it may actually be creating more long term damage, attention deficit problems with real word things don't work as well, as fast or as easy as the electronic world.

Do you not think we are moving into a digital age? If my child can start to become accustomed in these things at at early age why not? Yes kids break things if your not watching them but most people 'do' watch them and actually play games with their children on this. I'm quite happy to play with my 2 year old with my iPad and am certainly not shelling out for a leaped when I have such an amazing piece of equipment as this that I can share with my family.
 

Cowrulz

macrumors newbie
Sep 6, 2012
1
0
I hope some of the 80 year old parents that posted 1-2 years ago about children and iPads are still getting updates to this thread.

My son who is almost 22 months can operate the iPad fine, he's worked out how to unlock it and open the app that plays his favourite Elmo movie and he knows where the play button is. Since he watches no TV we figure the occasional Elmo and Disney video and Sesame street songs will be ok for him.

We are quite happy to let him use our iPad 3rd Gen's with mild supervision, but we won't take it from him if we get up to use the toilet or get a drink. We have told him what he is and isn't allowed to do with it and he respects that and follows it. All you have to do is give them reason to trust you and your judgement completely and make sure they understand why they mustn't do something. It helps that he is very advanced for his age but I cannot see why your average 24-28 month old wouldn't be the same.

He has been playing a bowling and motorbike game on occasion on our iPhone's as well for a few months and again we trust him with it. Good education and trusting your child can go a long way. We've even trusted him to carry the phones and other breakables around and asked him to take the iPhones to the other parent and never had a problem. I think it's sad when parents cannot trust their own children! Where and who have they learned their traits from? Perhaps it says something about their primary carers if they have learned to be untrustworthy.

We will most likely make one of our old iPad 2's his exclusively in the coming months. I should mention something that I think helps him understand loss of something he breaks; he learnt what the bin was not long after he could walk, and that anything that goes in there never comes back. So when he breaks a toy beyond repair (which I think has happened maybe once or twice ever), we told him it was broken (which he already understood by then) and that we couldn't fix it (also which he could understand), and it had to go in the bin and let him do it. After doing this with a toy he played with, and without getting upset I believe that he understood that he needed to look after his gear or he'd lose it. He trusts that when we tell him to not do something it's for a good reason and listens, but we always give him an explanation he can understand at least once.

How can they learn responsibility without a chance to be responsible? Besides, any lesson you can teach a child is worth more than what could potentially get broken if we're talking about material possessions. What is more important than a child learning and being happy?

Call me a bad parent all you like friends, I'll try not to be upset about it while my child outshines yours and lives a successful life. Embrace the best years that humanity has ever been lucky enough to have as they may not last.
 

OliverOSX93

macrumors regular
Jun 26, 2010
192
0
Accrington
Why would a picture book be more appropriate than a picture book app? Jealous we didn't get to have them as kids huh?

Well a child will learn how to use an actual book if you give them a book. No wonder teachers are getting miffed when children come in with no idea which way they open.
 

lilsoccakid74

macrumors 6502
Apr 13, 2010
282
0
Well a child will learn how to use an actual book if you give them a book. No wonder teachers are getting miffed when children come in with no idea which way they open.

So the problem isn't about a childs education or reading, but the physical way they open a book? You realize books are being replaced by e-readers at an exponential rate, and will be a majority of what these kids will be learning from right?

Don't worry that our children may open a book wrong, there are much larger problems.
 

Kauffman2

macrumors newbie
Oct 21, 2012
1
0
This forum was not created for parents to voice their opinions about what other parents are doing. I feel like my child is more developed than his counterparts because of the educational apps he plays with. Anyways here are some apps that my son loves.

Zoo train

Dora ABCs

Alphabet

Elmo's ABCs

Intro to letters
 

Laurel35

macrumors newbie
Nov 22, 2012
4
0
Excellent app which helped my son learn lot

"Smart Toddler School Pro++" iPad / iPhone app– This fast-paced program works on many levels and will be enjoyed by younger children. Its structure is good, starting out with the basics (such as counting to five, or presenting the concept of a circle) and then moving to more advanced territory (counting to 10, and examining pentagons).* The best segments deal with alphabets, numbers, counting, colors and shapes.* The sound is clear throughout, and the lyrics are fun and informative."
 

PixelInteractiv

macrumors regular
Feb 4, 2012
107
0
My 2 year old loves the iPad and enjoys this one alphabet app, but aside from that he knows how to unlock the iPad and go into movies and play Toy Story...

...We try to steer away from him just watching movies, but educational/fun apps seem fine.

any recommendations?


Our educational apps have been getting good reviews on iTunes:
- Counting Numbers 123 HD
- Learn to Count HD
- Alphabet Jumbled
- Fido Goes Places DX
- Fido's Treehouse Scavenger Hunt
- My 1st Songs Collection HD

If you would like a demo, PM me :)
 

Laurel35

macrumors newbie
Nov 22, 2012
4
0
Excellent app which helped my son learn lot

"Smart Toddler School Pro++" iPad / iPhone app– This fast-paced program works on many levels and will be enjoyed by younger children. Its structure is good, starting out with the basics (such as counting to five, or presenting the concept of a circle) and then moving to more advanced territory (counting to 10, and examining pentagons).* The best segments deal with alphabets, numbers, counting and shapes.* The sound is clear throughout, and the lyrics are fun and informative."
 

Laurel35

macrumors newbie
Nov 22, 2012
4
0
Excellent app which helped my son learn lot

"Smart Toddler School Pro++" apple app– This all in one or kindergarten prep app provides everything about upper, lower case letters, numbers, colors, shapes, counting and provides good listening and learning.* The child will have the opportunity to learn to write, counting, colors, and advanced shapes.* My son learned lot from this app. He plays with it for hours and hours.
 

Zesa9

macrumors newbie
Nov 26, 2012
1
0
2-Yr-Old Access to Math App

I just bought the Tap N Tell Math App for my 3 yr old grandson. He loves the Tap-10 counting game . Just buy the iPad case from Amazon, MoKo Slim-Fit Carbon Fiber Folio Case for iPad 2 & 3 to protect the device. Nothing wrong with the 2 or 3 yr olds using the iPad.
 

epramono

macrumors newbie
Mar 31, 2011
3
0
List of 20 Best Apps for 2-Year-Olds

After spending many tens of hours, I finally managed to finish the next guide that we have been planning for months now. The list is made based on my personal experience with the apps, and by observing how both my sons, Philip (3.5 years old) and Noah (18 months old), are interacting with these apps. The apps have been very influential for my sons, and I hope that by sharing this list, it will help other parents to provide their juniors with the best and most suitable apps for their age.

Here's an overview of the list contents:

Alphabet Apps
  • Alphabuild
  • LetterSchool
  • The ABCs of God
  • Tomo House

Reading Apps
  • Animal SnApp: Farm
  • Rounds: Franklin Frog
  • Rounds: Parker Penguin
  • You and Me: We're Opposites

Math Apps
  • Count, Sort and Match
  • Farm 123
  • Jungle Picnic
  • LetterSchool

Puzzle Apps
  • Association Puzzles
  • MosaicHD
  • Tangram Puzzles

Miscellaneous Apps
  • Bamba Post Office
  • Pepi Bath
  • Pepi Tree
  • Toca Doctor HD
  • Toca House
  • Toca Store

If you want to know the reasonings behind each of my selection, you're welcome to visit the list here:

Best Apps for 2-Year-Olds

Cheers,
Eric
 
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