10 iPhone Apps for Kids

I could have kissed my iPhone after waiting for over an hour at the doctors one day. After exhausting many of my usual tactics for keeping my son busy, I downloaded a free flash card iPhone app for my phone. I decided a variety of children’s iPhone apps on my phone would be useful for other such occasions but I just didn’t know where to start. There are just so many to choose from! Fortunately for me, Melissa has done some research on this subject and is sharing 10 of her favourite apps for kids.

10 iPhone Apps for Kids

Guest Post by Melissa 

I had a very odd feeling the other day, watching my 3 year old play on my iPhone. What is the world coming too? We are in the age of technology. The things we can do on our phones you couldn’t do on a PC not long ago. Just as my mother was amazed at how quick I learned how to use the VCR machine, I am forever amazed at how fast my darling daughter picked up on how to use my iPhone.

Below are our family favourite 10 iPhone apps. All of these apps can be used on every version of iPhone and most of them are free. While they are not all strictly educational, I think they all have something to offer.

1. Talking Hippo/Giraffe/Roby iPhone app (free)

This app is fun for everyone! Well, that is until you get sick of hearing your words repeated by a hippo, giraffe or robot. My daughter has never tired of this iphone app. She loves to tickle the animals and make them dance, but be aware that there are more adult based ones like Talking Tom and Talking John. One is a cat that when you tap the screen he acts as though he is punched and the other is a germ. The germ multiplies then disperses when given a “shot” and has a very evil laugh. They are all basically harmless, but the kiddies ones are cuter.

2. Peek a Boo Ratle iPhone App (free)

This is a very basic iPhone app. Just shake the phone and a random animal appears and makes noises. My 3 year old plays this game with her 9 month old sister and both of them are enthralled.

 

 

3. My Coloring Book iPhone app (free)

As the name suggest, it’s colouring, iPhone style. The child can click the colours they want and then press where they want the colour to go. There are tonnes of different pictures to choose from and it’s especially great for travelling or waiting for appointments. It’s all the fun of colouring without worrying about packing up pencils.

 

4. Mini Zoo iPhone app (free)

We love this game due to it’s simplicity. While some games have time limits, at which point the will “expire” (not so fun explaining to a toddler), this game has none of that. The child can build up their own zoo, earn money and spend the money on more animals. It teachers the value of money without having to worry about flushing dead fish (see below.)

5. Fish Life iPhone app (free)

That being said, we love Fish Life. Without regular feeding, the fish will die and you have to tap each fish & “flush” it. My 3 year old seems okay with the concept and is far more upset that she then has no money for more fish! The graphics are fun and just watching the fish swim around seems to be a favourite pass time.

6. Cut the rope Lite iPhone app (free)

This is new one in our arsenal, and requires some co ordination so probably suited to older children. The aim is to cut the rope in the right manner to swing the candy into the monsters mouth. It’s not too hard and very entertaining.

 

7. Look Again! iPhone app ($1.99)

This is a very basic game but great for teaching your kids all about shapes.

 

 

8. Dora the Explorer saves the Crystal Kingdom — Rainbow Ride ($1.99) (or Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom Lite (Free)

Anything Dora is popular in my house and the lite version is exciting enough for a child up to about 4 or 5 I would say. You have the option of a “rainbow ride” where tilting the phone collects crystals as Dora slides on a rainbow. The second option is colouring in Dora.

 

9. Kids Paint iPhone app ($0.99)

This app includes a range of colours, stamps and shape options. It’s very much like the original Paint on PC.

 

10. Bubble eXplode iPhone app (free)

This is a bubble popping game, where you match colours. Much like tetris, it also has a monochrome option with no colours but different shapes which makes a nice change. It has 3 different game options, one of which is “chill out” where you can just keep on playing without the “winning” factor, which is great for littlies.

 

What iPhone apps do your kids like? Leave them in a comment below