5 (Free) iPhone Apps Every Parent Should Have
One of the best things we can do as tech-saavy parents is get our kids acclimated early to the wonders of a digital life. I’m not saying kids can’t be kids, but I think it’s pretty darned cool that my 4 year old is the only kid in her class who knows how to work an iPod Touch or bring up web-based games in Safari. At the end of the day, growing up around technology could really give kids a leg up when they get out into the real world. And so, with that in mind, MacApper is proud to suggest five free apps that every parent should share with their kids.
Buddy the Bus offers up a 21st century take on the book-and-record sets we used to get as kids. Back then you’d dig out your Fisher-Price turntable and listen to the narrator read along with the story. Now that we live in “the future,” both audio and book are magically transported as one package in this totally free app. Your kids can pop in their headphones and listen along as Buddy the Bus takes his passengers all over the town.
Baby Flash Cards is, to no ones suprise, exactly what it sounds like. Flash cards are considered by many to be a great way to stimulate a child’s mind. But why shell out $5-$10 for a set of real cards when you can get a fantastic free set right here? The free set included in Baby Flash Cards features a variety of real world objects and animals paired up with their matching words. Cards can be explored alphabetically or randomly, and you can set it so that all the info is on the card at once or the words are hidden until you touch them.
SimpleDraw proves one solid universal truth: kids LOVE coloring. It’s timeless. Give a kid in 12th century Mongolia a crayon and he’ll know what to do with it in seconds. So it should come as no surprise that the one app my 2 year old is always trying to wrestle away my iPod for is the one she calls “COLOR!!” SimpleDraw’s name couldn’t be more accurate. You can select from a handful of colors and brush thicknesses, but asides from that things are kept alarmingly minimalist. Your little one can just put a finger on the screen and go to town.
Children’s Classics let’s you put the tradition of reading with you’re kids right in your pocket. Sure you could ask your child to sit quietly and patiently on that long train trip/airport wait/doctor’s office visit, but wouldn’t it be more fun to break out the bedtime stories in the middle of the afternoon? Children’s Classics offers up 16 classics children’s reads ranging from Pinnochio and Robin Hood to Aesop’s Fables and The Secret Garden. If you find your family is really digging it, make sure to do a search on the AppStore for BeamItDown Software. Not only have they pblished this great collection, but they have a number of other classic family stories like Alice in Wonderland or A Christmas Carol available completely free of charge.
myHomework is an app that every iPhone/iPod toting student should own, and every parent encourage. myHomework lets a child keep track of their class schedule, assignments, tests and other school activities. Even better, it has color coded reminders to let them know when something is about to come due or has missed a deadline. Organization is a cornerstone to success, and what better developmental task to apply this to than the daily juggle of academia?
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many apps, both paid and free, that prove to be a great resource for parents the world over. What iPhone apps do you share with your kids?
“an app that every iPhone/iPod toting student should own, and every parent encourage.”
If you buy an iPhone for your 4-12 year old, you should be shot in the face.
@no, completely unnecessary comment and you are probably not a parent. As a parent of a 5 and 3yr old, I load a number of these applications on my iPhone, and often share time with them to use them.
ABC Animals, Adventure, Flash Cards, various memory games.
My 3 year old has worked out touchPhysics and even use of levers!!
Also if you look at primary schools, they are now adopting iPod Touch devices in the classroom to enhance learning.
Don’t worry Ian, I think your okay with your 3 year old. ‘No’ only specified that 4-12 year olds should require you being shot in the face. We have one in the oven and I will be trying to get him playing with iphones, laptops and other techy gadgets asap!
[...] [via MacApper] [...]
A lot of people think it’s obnoxious that my 9 year old has an iPhone, but we didn’t exactly go out and get one for her. We had the original phones. Then my husband bought the updated versions, so we hooked one of the older ones up for my daughter. My ex and I are divorced, and my daughter is involved in many activities. It’s a great way for her to stay in touch with me. She has had it over a year and not lost it. She’s a very responsible kid.
Anyone who gets their child an iphone should be shot.There are cheaper phones out there for children,and shoving what they want in their face just spoils them rotten.
I’m 15 and I WORK for my stuff.I have a part time job, and £5 a month pocket money.Yeah,i don’t earn much,and no,i have not got an ipod.I have my mothers 10 year old hand-me-down cell.I pay for 1/3 of my school uniform costs as well.I like it when you work because once you get something,you feel like you DESERVE it.Anyone under 12 who is with an adult 25/8 shouldn’t have a cell anyways.
-Emerald.
Thanks for these great apps! It is difficult to search through everything in the iStore for children apps and this really helped.
I have a grown son and yes technology is great…But i see it everyday children
are not being taught human relationships how to share get along listen talk things
out why talk when you can tech message. Remember like all new toys I call them
it is about big business not human beings and that is why so many kids are killing
and doing some really awful things. The human connection is gone.
Gotta tell you that Buddy the Bus and Children’s Classics are both not free anymore….. They cost .99 cents. As for thinking that if your child has an iphone, they should be shot in the face, you obviously don’t have children.
Cram for the iPhone is also an option. It uses multiple choice testing AND digital flashcards to help prepare students for various types of test material.
@no thinks buying an iPhone for your 4-12 year old is totally unacceptable but shooting someone in the face perfectly acceptable. Sums up his mentality really.