If you’re gifting your child a tablet or a smartphone it’s more than likely that they’ll be downloading a number of apps to make the best use of their new gadget.
With over 1.6 million apps available to download from the Android and Apps stores and at least 1,000 apps added each day, there is so much choice and it can be difficult to keep up.
Gives parents peace of mind and a child a safe online viewing experience
YouTube have launched a child-friendly version of their popular video sharing site. This was first introduced in the US but now has been made available in the UK.
The child-friendly version filters out inappropriate content and hides comments on videos. It does not allow them to login to the platform and ads are screened to ensure that they are appropriate for children.
Videos are grouped in four categories; shows, music, learning and explore. For all those parents worried about their child viewing inappropriate content on YouTube this app will give you peace of mind. However, we would still encourage you to talk to your child about what they are watching on the app.
Apps that will inspire your child’s imagination
These apps regularly feature in the best apps for kids lists and Toca Boca has recently added Toca Life: School and Toca life: City to their offering. The apps cover everything from hair salons to science labs and in some instances give parents and child a tool that they can play together.
These apps are designs for young children from 3+ and encourage them to use their imagination to discover different settings in a digital world.
Great story-time app full of familiar characters
If you’re looking to share a story with your child with characters they know and love on CBeebies, this is great app for them.
It makes reading fun with playful and imaginative stories created to help support early years reading and develop comprehension skills.
There’s also a library function to give you and your child more options to read and download more stories for free.
Learning apps for toddlers
Created for infants and toddlers, they will help your child learn and play at the same time. There are currently 7 apps to choose from which include Let’s count Animals, Learning letters Monkey App and Storybook Rhymes Volume 1, 2, 3.
These are a great way to help your child develop different skills and have fun at the same time.
Eric Carle’s book made into an interactive pop-up storybook
This is a great classic made available for a new generation. Your child will be able to watch him as he crawls across the screen, help him explore and take a sneak peek into his colourful toy box.
The app brings the story to life by encouraging your child to take care of the caterpillar from egg to butterfly. The app features 8 games which include brain challenges, such as counting, sorting, and building mazes, as well as older-kid-friendly challenges.
Interactive e-safety story
This story was created to help parents teach children aged 3 – 7 yrs how to be a good friend online. It’s a great way to start the conversation about what they should expect from the online world and how to stay safe.
A great tool to get kids coding
Getting children to code can be a fun and useful tool for the future. This free iPad app lets kids create interactive animations, stories and basic games using simple computer programming.
New interactive e-safety app
This is an interactive learning tool designed to encourage parents and children to talk about e-safety issues. The aim is to help your child to make smart choices to keep themselves safe online.
Inspires curiosity and creative Thinking
This is a great app that features learning videos and challenges your child to create something new. It allows your child to share their new creations and discoveries with family and friends in a safe online environment.
There are over 120 teacher-created challenges and more than 3000 curated videos from YouTube Vimeo and Google Maps. The content is divided into smaller categories such as World, Drawing and Do it Yourself. Your child will be able to use the in-app search to find content they are interested in.
Gives parents peace of mind and a child a safe online viewing experience
The Sky Kids app will offer a fun and safe way for pre-schoolers to nine year olds to enjoy a wide range of the most popular kids TV. Parents have been involved in the development of the Sky Kids app. The result is an app that kids will love, supported by safety features that parents need.
Simple e-book creator for children
This is a great app to engage your child in storytelling as they create a book using their drawings, pictures and even their own voice to bring their story to life.
Once they have created their book, it can be shared on various apps such as Dropbox and Evernote. You can also open it on Google Play Books (Android) and iBooks (iOS).
Coding made easy for kids
If your child is interested in coding, this is a great app which teaches them to code by getting them to direct a robotic arm to move crates to a designated spot. It’s both engaging and challenging, giving children a great way to develop coding skills.
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Mobile edition of the popular game
Minecraft is officially the most popular game online and now your kids will be able to tap into their creative minds and build structures on their tablets and smartphones. It has the same basic functionality as the desktop version with some limitations.
Like Guitar Hero, this app makes piano playing easy and fun
This is a free music-playing app that allows you to play your favourite songs from Mozart to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by tapping balls of light to recreate melodies and chords.
You are given a handful of songs to play and additional songs can be purchased. You can also listen to other players’ performances from all over the world but there is no direct communication.
Easy way to learn a new language
With over 25 million users, this is a popular app that helps you to learn up to 11 languages, from Spanish to Portuguese. The app is free to download and there are no ads or hidden fees so it’s safe for children to use.
A game app designed to get your child e-safe
This app is designed to teach children between 4 and 16 yrs about online safety. The game covers areas such as emails, privacy settings, stranger danger, cyber bullying, posting selfies and much more.
There is also a parallel Parent App that enables you to track their process and it gives tips on how to have conversations about internet safety.
Great tool to get your kids to create their own virtual games
It is essentially a software development tool that teaches kids to program using the Lua programming language. If your child is already familiar with coding this will be easy to pick up. If not, they can they can use sample programs to become familiar.
Helps teens keep track of anything that is important
A free app available on smartphone and desktop to help teens and adults keep track of anything that is important. The app lets you save and share all your notes, photos and thoughts in the cloud so you can have access to them from anywhere with an internet connection.
E-safety app to help teens deal with Sexting
Made by ChildLine, Zipit aims to help teenagers deal with difficult sexting and flirting situations. The app offers humorous comebacks and advice, and aims to help teenagers stay in control of flirting when chatting.
See more articles and resources to keep children safe online
