Wireless Wednesday…Keep the kids busy

8 Oct

* I want to apologize for falling behind this week. *

If you’re a mother to a toddler or preschooler and also the owner of an iPhone or iPod Touch I have some great apps for you. Going out to restaurants or sitting in waiting rooms can be tough for the little ones. The days of diaper bags full of toys and snacks to occupy them are over. I found a few apps that will make going out to dinner a much nicer experience.

There are 8 different “Toddler Teaser” apps available ranging in price from free to $1.99 (Small price to pay for an evening out WITH the kids). Toddler Teaser games include; letters, colors, numbers, shapes, words, animals, whatchamacallit, transportation, and a quiz game that includes shapes, colors and letters. Personally, we have the quiz game ($1.99) and the shapes game (free). They really keep Cameron engaged for a lot longer than I thought they would. The down side to these games is that in most cases you need to have the volume on to play them. We usually just turn it down so only Cameron can hear and have not had any problems even in nicer restaurants or doctor’s offices.

We also have iPlay ‘n Learn. Put out by Parent’s Magazine, iPlay ‘n Learn helps toddlers learn their letters, shapes and colors. After downloading this app (for $.99) I gave it a try and think it’s awesome. There are three different levels; Flashcards, Quizzes, and Tracing, in each level you can choose between Letters, Colors or Shapes.

In the Flashcard level it will show your child either a letter color or shape depending on what they choose and tell them what it is with arrows to move to the next card. The Quizzes level asks your child to identify letters, shapes and colors. Finally, the Tracing level has your child trace with his or her finger letters, numbers and shapes. With Quizzes and Tracing levels, the child is verbally rewarded for correct responses and encouraged when they give an incorrect response.

All in all, I think these apps are a great “investment”, they’re educational and inexpensive. I usually hold out and don’t hand over my phone until I feel I need to. I’m trying to keep it a treat to have when we’re out, not something he expects everytime.

Have you tried any of the other game apps geared towards the toddler/preschooler age group? Let me know if there is any one you really liked so I can give it a try too. Email MyLifeInMommyland@me.com