Tips for Buying Kids Apps

It’s amazing what technology can do these days. My kids (if I let them) could spend hours on their electronic devices playing games, reading or watching videos. When my 8 year old got a tablet for Christmas, I was noticing that she kept coming in asking for a new app. Like constantly. I asked her to play what she had before getting something new, and she would agree for a time.

I received download of Spot was compensated in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

It made me really think about which apps she was downloading and what were the best kids apps out there. We all usually grab up free apps, but if it’s worth it, we want to make sure we are getting our moneys worth out of the paid apps.

Here are a few tips for buying kids apps..

Sources

Did you know that just about anyone can create an app and put it up on the App store or Google Play store? Yup, doesn’t take much at all. That’s why you want to make sure you are getting something from a trusted education company that you recognize, or that you can find information on quickly. Check out the user ratings on the app, or ask other parents that you know about their experiences using the app.

Educational and Fun

Find an app that has the right blend of fun and learning. Most apps will have screen shots or videos for each app, check them out and see what you think. If the game is free, download it and play it yourself. If it doesn’t meet your standards, just delete it.

Age Appropriate

This one is pretty important. Nothing is more frustrating for a child than something they don’t understand or don’t have the dexterity to play yet. If you child doesn’t read, make sure the app also has audio directions with the app, instead of just onscreen directions.

For my 2nd grader, I found an app that really stretches her imagination and gets her creativity sparked! David Wiesner, 3 time winner of the Caldecott Medal for distinguished American picture books for children, has created Spot, a wordless book app that takes you through 5 fantastical worlds!

If you are familiar with the amazing David Wiesner books like Tuesday or Mr. Wuffles! then you know the beautiful worlds that David creates using beautifully drawn characters and places. David brings the fantastically to life by making walking cats and flying pigs! Now these amazing worlds are in one cool app. Available now exclusively for ipad, Spot uses a pinch and zoom format (zoom in and out using your fingers) to explore worlds within worlds.

Check it out!

All of my girls were extremely fascinated by Spot. From my 13 year old daughter to my 2 year old, they were all gathered around me watching as we zoomed from one scene to another. It was so cool to find ourselves right back in the place we started, and we would challenge ourselves to get back there again. I had fun asking them to tell me a story based on what they were seeing. David Wiesner’s Spot would make a great writing prompt for writing assignments or homeschooling. We also found Spot to be quite calming, a real fun add to our bed time routine.

David Wiesner’s Spot is available to download on the iTunes app store. You can also check out all of David Wiesner’s work from his website here.

What is your child’s favorite app?