If you read the Mamablog regularly, you may already know that I don’t let my children use the iPad without restrictions. That’s why it always takes longer for them to get sick of an app. At some point, however, it will be so far, and there will have to be supplies.
What’s not so easy is that there is a huge range of children’s apps, but there’s a lot of crap under it. That’s why here for all parents who are currently looking for new apps, my ten current favorites:
Husch Monster!
Monster200 The perfect app for kids who often have nightmares: In the app, the player helps Tom the boy in a variety of ways to chase away a ghastly dream monster. It’s a good way to make nightmares a subject of discussion and to reduce fears. Price: one franc.
2 on journeys
Download (1)In this SBB children’s app, the little ones travel through nine worlds with Pünktli and Strobo. Each world is a hidden object in which five objects have to be found and touched. The houses and figures are tiny, and I had my real trouble discovering the things I was looking for. But the children like such search pictures and can dive into them wonderfully. Price: free of charge.
ABC Dino Xenegugeli
Download (2)The Swiss songwriter Roland Zoss has already released the “ABC Xenegugeli” in 1999, at that time still in book and CD form. For some years now, the “ABC Xenegugeli” has been available as an app with which preschool children can learn the letters. Unfortunately a bit expensive, but with very pretty illustrations and songs. Price: nine francs.
This is my body
Download (3)Whether the child wants to know more about its bones, digestion or growth, here it gets answers. Sometimes playfully, sometimes in more detailed texts. An app that parents like to watch as well. Price: three francs.
Pixi – Max becomes world champion
Download (4)I only recently discovered that Pixi books are also available electronically. The stories are enriched with tips for handicrafts and games. If you are just learning to read, you can first read the page yourself and then have it read to you. Price: two francs.
Petting zoo
Download (5)According to iTunes, the app with the great illustrations by Christoph Niemann has already been downloaded more than a million times – because changing the funny animals not only inspires small children, but also parents. Price: three francs.
Fiete Match
Download (6)From Seemann Fiete there are several apps available. In “Fiete Match” he plays against the child Memory. How strongly he plays can be adjusted as well as the type of memory. Price: three francs.
Capt’n Sharky: Successful learning at preschool
Download (7)Admittedly, the title sounds a bit tense, but my big one loves the Sharky app. Here crabs are counted and things are put into a treasure chest according to their first letters. Sharky also teaches the children what the colours are called in English during a colouring game. Price: three francs.
The big word factory
Download (8)Not a game, but rather a picture book in app form is “Die grosse Wörterfabrik”. It tells the story from the book of the same name and convinces with an imaginative story and beautifully drawn, unagitated pictures. Price: three francs.
Sesame Street
SesamFive simple games that are all set to music and therefore playable even for the little ones. For example, a frog has to jump from leaf to leaf without drowning in the river. The app was developed by NDR and contains popular Sesame Street figures like the Crumb Monster and Erni. Price: free of charge.
By the way, experts advise not to use apps that offer in-app purchases.
Rightly so: The nerve is pre-programmed, because the children want to buy all the additional functions after a while. An exception are apps, which are available in a paid and a free version. If I’m unsure whether the app is really something, I first test the light version before I buy the right app.
Even free apps that constantly pep up advertising are better avoided. Otherwise the kids will suddenly end up on Youtube just because they clicked on the banner. So make sure you try out the app yourself at the beginning. Or read what the German Youth Institute (DJI) has to say about it. The DJI has tested and critically evaluated a large number of children’s apps.