favourite toddler apps

Here is a list of the iPhone and iPad apps for toddlers that have proved the most popular with our family. As I often discover new apps, this page will be a constant work in progress. Please note all prices were correct at the time of writing, but are subject to change.

Peekaboo Barn – Night & Day Studios, Inc. (iPhone – £1.49 with free “lite” version available) and Peekaboo Barn for iPad – Night & Day Studios, Inc. (iPad – £1.49). This is one of the first apps we bought when the geekdaughter was small, and it has served us extremely well, as it’s now one of the geekson’s favourites. Inside the barn is an animal. When the door is closed, you hear the noise. Tap on the doors and they open to reveal the animal, and it’s name is spoken. Introduces animal sounds and names. You can choose either an adult voice or child voice to speak the animal name – currently these are both with an American accent although I am very excited to hear from the developer that a British accent option is in development.

Peekaboo Wild – Night & Day Studios, Inc. (iPhone only – £1.49) and Peekaboo Forest – Night & Day Studios, Inc. (Universal – £1.49). More of the same.

Wheels on the Bus – Duck Duck Moose (iPhone only – 69p) and Wheels on the Bus HD – Duck Duck Moose (iPad only – £1.49). This is another app that’s stood the test of time, having been enjoyed by both our kids. You can move through a series of animations of scenes from the popular nursery rhyme, albeit with some additions I’ve not come across before (the baker on the bus says “have some cake”?). This is a good app for introducing the touchscreen “swipe” action as well as tapping. You can also record yourself singing for your child.

It must be said, I haven’t yet found any app from Duck Duck Moose that I didn’t like

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox – THUP Games (Universal – 69p). This is an app that polarises opinion – you love it or hate it. Your child is presented with a series of mini-games all themed around fruit. There are counting games, matching games, jigsaw puzzles and spot the difference games. It’s fast moving, and after every few games your child is rewarded with a “sticker” that they can choose. What I don’t like so much about this game is the noise – the volume seems higher than in other games, and it’s very verbose (and American). But if you can get over that, this is another long-lived app (both my kids enjoy playing it).

Thomas Game Pack – HiT Entertainment (iPhone, will run on iPad in compatibility mode – £1.99). This is a collection of three Thomas the Tank Engine mini games – pairs matching, jigsaw and a maze. The pairs matching and the jigsaw are great for toddlers, although the maze is more difficult – the geekdaughter took a long time to master it. If you have a little Thomas fan, this is a great app.

Shape Builder – the Preschool Learning Puzzle Game – Darren Murtha Design (iPhone only, will run on iPad in compatibility mode – 69p – with free “lite” version available). This is a really nice little jigsaw app suitable for older toddlers and pre-schoolers. It contains a collection of puzzles of between 5 and 10 pieces. once you get the piece in approximately the right place it “snaps” into place. The pieces and brightly coloured, and when the puzzle is complete it makes a shape or an object, and changes into a picture of that item with a voiceover stating what the item is. Again it’s an American voiceover, but I don’t find it too distracting.

AniMatch: Animal Pairs and Sounds Matching Game – Lima Sky (Universal – 69p). Did you ever play that memory card game as a kid, where you put all the cards face down and then turned over two at a time until you made a match? That’s what this app does. Each card hides an animal, and when you tap on the card it reveals the animal and makes the animal noise (warning, this is another loud one!). Kids will love just getting the animals to make the noise to start with, and then will progress to actual matching. A great app for 69p!

Why don’t you leave me a comment and tell me your favourite toddler apps?

Disclosure: The links above incorporate my iTunes affiliate ID. If you make a purchase after clicking on a link it doesn’t cost you any more money, but you contribute a few pennies towards the upkeep of this site.