iPhone Apps for Parents and Kids: Can't We Do Better Than This?

Late last week, I purchased an iPhone: my very first smartphone. And like every other newbie iPhone owner, I immediately started scouting out apps (those tiny applications that allow the iPhone to morph into a flashlight, a construction level, a dictionary, bubblewrap, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Or so it would seem).

One of the first categories I decided to check out what was on offer for parents and kids.

Parent apps

A lot of the apps that I looked at for parents seem to be out of touch with what parents would love to see in an app, circa 2010. Instead of designing these apps by considering what the technology can contribute to the lives of parents, the designers appear to have taken the opposite approach: a lot of app designers have designed iPhone apps by considering what the technology can do and then looking for a fit with the lives of parents. (It's a subtle but important difference.) That's why there are an abundance of contraction timers, baby activity trackers, and other similar apps: it's easy to program a piece of software to keep track of the metrics of parenting. It takes a lot more upfront thinking and planning to design an app that would function as the iPhone equivalent of a mom or dad brain.

Kid apps

Many apps for preschoolers seem to fall into a similar trap. You'll find flash card apps galore for babies and toddlers – this despite the fact that flash cards have been out of favor with the majority of parents for the past two decades. (Remember all those jokes about 1980s yuppie parents and their flash card obsessions? They eventually learned that a baby can learn the word "ball" even more effectively by drooling over a real ball.)

I talked to Allison McDonald of the popular parenting and early childhood education site No Time for Flash Cards about the iPhone flash cards app phenomenon. As I had anticipated, she wasn't overly impressed either.

"In general my opinion about flash cards are that they are simply not appropriate teaching tools for young children. Memorization is not learning: ...parrots can recite Shakespeare [but that] doesn't mean they understand it. They have merits for things like sight words, and when memorization is needed, but not when learning foundations for further knowledge, or when comprehension is the goal. Young children should be learning through play, being able to manipulate, associate context, and be creative. A static card is incapable of that.

"Flash cards aren't likely an experience a child will remember and cherish. They don't develop a love of learning. That to me as a mom and educator is paramount for this age group. That love will stay with a child throughout their life if the foundations are laid early on."

McDonald is also frustrated with the marketing messages accompanying some of the iPhone flash card apps. For example: "Just choose the set and your child can do the rest." (I was fascinated by the marketing tagline for OccupyBaby: the app designed to "calm, entertain, and educate babies, toddlers, and kids." Translation: "it will do whatever you want it to do for whatever age of kid you have. Just click and buy.")

Screen time, anyone?

And then there are those screen time recommendations for kids to keep in mind (the American Pediatric Society recommends no screen time at all for kids under two; the Canadian Society of Pediatrics suggests a limit of no more than one to two hours per day for any member of the family). An iPhone or an iTouch is, after all, a tiny little screen, adorably packaged as it may be.

"To me these are huge red flags," McDonald explains. "Young children should not be handed an iPhone to learn from alone. A baby should be on the floor exploring the things on the flashcards with their parents. The babies will learn the same things by experiencing them through all their senses: not just watching them on a screen. Sit down and read, point out the pictures, and talk to your baby and they won't need flash cards."

McDonald also worries about the effect on kids if parents develop a bad case of one-app-manship: "My final concern is that these apps add fuel to the fire that parents feel pressure to keep up with their neighbours' child who is reading at age two and speaking three languages. We all need to chill out, let our kids develop their own interests, and use those [interests] as a launching pad for learning."

* * *

So tell me: have I missed your favorite iPhone app for parents or for kids? (There are a lot of apps in that iTunes store, after all!) Have you been dazzled -- or disappointed -- by an iPhone app that you purchased to make your life as a parent easier or better? I'd love to hear what you have to say. Please post your comments below and let other parents who might be interested in having their say know that we're having this conversation here. Thanks!

Comments

[Kris]

Frankly, I'm disturbed by toddlers/young children using an iPhone. This is -imho- just an extension of the overuse of television/gaming systems to keep kids occupied with little effort. Now, with the iPhone, parents can have distractions at their fingertips, everywhere they go and with very little effort.

[Soloparentprofessional.wordpress.com]

I like the Duck Duck Goose apps (Old Macdonald, Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider). I downloaded a few others but uninstalled. I figure my iPhone isn't for my 3-year-old anyway, but I will say, the singalong apps have been VERY helpful to keep her in the grocery cart while shopping.

[Mpricemitchell]

My husband and I both have apps for our daughter on our iPhones. My daughter (17 months) loves Peekaboo Barn and Peekaboo Wild. (The animals play peekaboo, make a noise and the animal name is announced.) I have a couple of flash card games, but we don't use them as much (actually, I just uninstalled one after reading this article, since I realized that I really didn't like it).

We don't use these apps with her every day, and she always uses them with us guiding the way and interacting with her. (At 17 months, she really can't be trusted holding the phone herself anyway.)

Like the previous poster said, the iPhone is for me, not for my kid, but having these apps on my phone has been a lot of fun for her and for me.

I haven't seen a "parenting app" that I've been interested in, but anything that helps me as a person helps me as a parent. :)

[perceval]

My kids use the iPod Touch a lot. We have a wide range of educational apps, talking books, and simple games (Make a Martian, Dress Me Up come to mind - my son's princesses are always very funky, my daughter's princesses are very traditional). None of the apps are flash cards, all of them are interactive, and the kids choose what to play with. Sometimes, it's plain silly (my toddler son creating Sims or playing Sneezies), sometimes, it's educational (my preschooler daughter teaching herself to read and write using pocketphonics). The apps are a rich source of interaction. I name the animals in Hatch! or Peekaboo Barn in German for my son, my daughter wants me to fly Silvermist through a level in Disney Fairies Fly or to help her with a game of golf.

[Heidi]

I downloaded and used the Contraction Master App for my iTouch when I was pregnant with our second child. Of course I only used it for the 40 minutes prior to calling the L&D to tell them I was coming in, but made it very easy to time contractions without having to think about anything other than 'start now' 'stop now'.

I have also downloaded some apps for our toddler. I do have one flashcard ap for her called Toddler Flashcards by iTot Apps. It has letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and realistic photos of animals, food, and other items. I was shocked the first time we used it around 20 months and she already knew all of the items in the program. Even if she still had to sign some of them to tell me. We rarely use it, and when we do, we use it to learn the spanish words for those items.

The other toddler apps I have are called Toddler Teasers, by Toddler Teasers. They have 8 different programs: Letters, numbers, shapes, colors, bugs, animals, transportation, and food. The screen shows 3-6 different items. A written message tells the parent which item they child is supposed to choose. When the right item is touched, you get a new set. After 4 correct picks, you get a virtual sticker. She has fun with this, but it's a game we play together - not something I just hand off my iTouch with! Now, if I were willing to set her up with earphones, she could probably play it herself, but we won't. Not only are earphones not good for the little ones, but I like to do these things together. And it helps insure that she isn't deleting all of my apps or downloading new ones without my permission!!

[Ann Douglas]

Wow! Lots of great comments came in while I was, ummm, hanging out in the iTunes store downloading a few more apps. (Yep, it's true. That place is like a candy store.)

Kris: I agree that we want to limit screen time, especially with babies and toddlers.

Soloparentprofessional: Someone on Twitter was talking about Duck Duck MOOSE! I thought that one sounded fun, too. (Thought I'd pass that along in case you wanted to check it out.) And I hear you re: grocery cart entertainment. Sometimes those checkout lines can't move quickly enough.

Mpricemitchell: This comment of yours is totally brilliant:
"I haven't seen a "parenting app" that I've been interested in, but anything that helps me as a person helps me as a parent." :) I want apps that do something significant - or why bother? (As you can tell, I'm not big into games - except Scrabble - and the Scrabble app got mediocre reviews.)

Perceval: Thanks for talking about the ways you use the iTouch to play traditional mix-and-match games. That's really cool. The fact that you're part of all these games -- and adding the educational twists (like "Let's play this one in German!") is what makes this such a great experience for your kids. (But you already know that.)

Heidi: Until you mentioned it, I hadn't thought about how easily a toddler could give your iTouch an apps makeover. (I've only had mine for a few days so I'm probably below the toddler level of proficiency at this point.) Oh my. Thanks for all your input on what you like and don't like and how you and your toddler use the iTouch together. I am really fascinated by this topic.

[Amy]

While I agree that there are score of iPhone apps that are terrible and not worth even the time it took to download, there are some gems worthy of your time, and your children's time. I've been reviewing a bunch of them, and the one that most recently caught my eye is Sound Shaker from Tickle Tap Apps. It shows, I think, that we're really on the brink of true innovation in kids' gaming.

With the iPhone, gaming for kids is more direct, more intuitive than anything on the computer or any other gameplay, and I'm very excited to see where it's heading. With true innovation can come great learning.

Also, with the app Ovulite, my iPhone helped get me pregnant. :)

[Cbadov]

Great post. I'm of course a big fan of Allie's so I completely respect her opinion. I agree, we're not fans of flashcards either, though I have used them to help with site words but our site word stories work just as well.

We don't allow any screen time during the school week (that means TV or computer) - my kids are 7,5,3 - and even on the weekend it's more about the family watching a DVD or playing a video game together (yes, we're game junkies).

I do let my kids use my iPhone. My 3yo loves the apps from Tickle Tap Apps (I don't know if I can include this, but I did a review of them on my blog http://cabadov.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/review-tickle-tap-apps-preschool-iphone/)

But I don't use it as a babysitting tool. These apps have come in handy for grocery shopping, conference call distractions, even road trips.

I have created an app page on my iPhone for my kids and they are good at sticking to playing things on just that page. My 7yo even plays chess (she practices her moves on an iPhone app and I'm trying to find a player one so she can play my SIL who is an avid chess player also). Like all mediums, iPhone apps can have a place in your child's life (though certainly in no way is it necessary). It's our role as parents to guide and monitor that involvement.

Cheers
Carrie Anne

[Ouriel Ohayon]

It is true it s hard to find your way in the App Store. We think it requires some filters to find the best apps. Actually we have found some nice gems for toddlers and moms and we have published them in a widget here

http://appsfire.com/selection.php?cid=1255587097-611240267&title=10+apps+for+Toddlers
http://appsfire.com/selection.php?cid=1256566693-817414402&title=Apps+for+Moms

We'd be delighted to include your own selection in our AppMix section on http://Appsfire.com

Ouriel Ohayon
Appsfire.com

[Aven]

I've just downloaded a free trial of an audiobooks app for kids: Tales2Go. It's got a bunch of stories on it, some longer, some short (5-8 minutes). I haven't tried them with my 3-year old yet, but I'm hoping he might like listening to them in the car on the way to daycare, for instance. He loves my iPod Touch, it's a struggle sometimes to get some time on it myself! He can navigate all around it, it's amazing how intuitive the interface is (a quick note -- he can't download apps w/out my password, even by mistake, even free ones; but he could theoretically delete them, I suppose). He likes looking at the weather network app and telling me solemnly whether it's currently cloudy or not... mostly, I think he just likes how he can make things move and react by touching the screen. And he likes typing his name. :)

[Toni Rhodes]

As a former kindergarten teacher, I understand the concerns about using apps for very young children. Mostly, they need to be manipulating objects in the real world. However, realistically I recognize that kids are going to be using technology in all aspects of their lives. (Did anyone see the recent "Frontline" TV show about how kids and adults are using media?) I believe that in the near future children (and adults) will be reading most of their books on e-readers. That's one of the reasons my company, RhodeSoft.com, is producing books and stories for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You are invited to check out "Lula's Brew" - a real storybook for the little screens.

[andrea from the fishbowl]

I have an iPhone too. My kids are older (8 and 10) and so we're way past the toddler games stage.

We are a gaming family and do use it for play sometimes (although it is my "work" phone, so I try to limit this).

I think screen time should be limited - not just for children, but for all of us. :)

There are a few apps that have made homework easier for us, which I think is great.

#1 - Dictionaries, including French/English dictionaries. My older daughter is in french immersion. We have a paper dictionary, but the app has much more info, and I think it might even have the audio pronunciation.

#2 - multiplication games. A lot of learning isn't about memorizing, but times tables need to be memorized and there's really no way around it. I like Pop Math.

#3 - Wikipedia - For some reason the biggest (and hardest to answer!) questions get asked when we're in the car. As an informavore I like having the answer at my fingertips.

I haven't even touched on apps that make my life easier as a parent: Yellow pages, ShopShop (grocery lists), Shazam (which I seem to use on a daily basis, especially for music for my kids).

Did you know there was an Olympic App? With news and schedule info too?

It's been an interesting ride, hasn't it? Technology has advanced and changed so much these past few years. Twenty years ago, did you think that you'd be able to shop on your phone, from the comfort of your living room? Or talk on a "video" phone to faraway relatives? Or hold your telephone up to a song on the radio, have it recognize it, and then give you links to listen to it, buy it, read the discography or watch the music video??

What an exciting time we live in.

[Ann Douglas]

Thank you for all the late-breaking comments -- and all the fabulous recommendations for apps that you have loved using with your toddlers. (Amy: Great news about the app that helped you conceive. I've looked at some of the pregnancy apps and they seem to be of varying quality. I've noted the one you like. Is that the one that Toni Weschler helped to develop?)

[GabriellaGaby]

Talking about the best iPhone apps for kids I would like to mention about Kinder Hangman - http://sharkfuel.com/kinderhangman.html that is specially designed to improve vocabulary of kids and help them remember new words. iTune link is http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kinder-hangman/id375734517?mt=8 This iPhone app works to improve child's development and can be used to prepare kids for school. It is intended for kids of 4-6 years.