While limiting screen time is a very real concern for many parents,
there are times when a child’s natural fascination with Apple’s powerful and
popular iPhone mobile device can provide a much-needed diversion. The intuitive
interface and ease of use offered by these 10 apps, all of which are available
in the App Store, make them great options for harried parents who need a
distraction for their children during long waits. Sometimes all that children
need to prevent tantrums and misbehavior borne of frustration and restlessness
is the fun that one or more of these apps can provide.
• Helicopter Taxi – By simulating a
helicopter flight in the same room as your child through the use of the
iPhone’s camera, the $1.99 Helicopter Taxi app delights and amazes. Don’t be
surprised, however, if you find yourself furtively using this one yourself. The
augmented reality effect is completely addictive, and the app runs no
third-party advertising to distract from game play.
• Pocket Frogs – Kids can discover frogs
with the Pocket Frogs app, then collect and breed them to create their own
diverse collection. Habitats are customizable, allowing kids to put their own
personal stamp on the game as they play. Free in the app store, Pocket Frogs also
makes new in-game items available each day.
• Cut the Rope – Cut ropes to release candy
into the ravenous Om Nom’s mouth, collecting gold star rewards and unlocking
new levels as you progress. While this $0.99 app is directed at kids, it’s cute
and engaging enough to make your own mass transit commute or long wait time a
bit more bearable.
• Disney Fairies Fly – If a few
Tinkerbell-themed movies simply aren’t enough to satisfy your little one’s
craving for all things Fairy, this $4.99 app might be just what you’re looking
for. Kids can explore changing seasons and help the fairies complete various
tasks, while dodging dastardly birds and thistles along the way.
• Dinosaurs: The American Museum of Natural
History Collections – This app is sure to satisfy every dinosaur-crazy aspiring
paleontologist. With images from the archives of the American Museum of Natural
History, Dinosaurs helps kids learn about science while they entertain
themselves.
• SmackTalk! – It’s no secret to any parent
that the things kids love the most will almost always be the ones that adults
find most irritating. This $0.99 app is no exception, as it allows kids to
convert recordings of their own voices and chosen phrases into a distorted or
altered version of themselves, with the effects ranging from the most
high-pitched squeaks to unsettling low rumbles.
• Pianist – The full 88 keys of a piano are
represented faithfully in this $3.99 app, which is heavily touted by the Apple
corporation themselves. Budding musicians can experiment with music and begin
to grasp the basics of playing the piano with a few taps of the screen. A word
to the wise: invest in headphones.
• Pocket Pond – Kids can feed the native
koi fish, create ripple effects, and observe the behavior of schools of fish by
scaring them, feeding them or simply watching them move with this app. While
the app is marketed as a relaxation app for adults, it’s also fascinating to
young children and devoid of the character commercialization that often
accompanies apps marketed to a younger audience.
• Alphabet Animals – Talking ABC Cards for
Kids – These interactive flash cards keep toddlers and preschoolers happily
engaged with three different sound effects for each, including a pronunciation
of the animal’s name, the associated letter or an easy-to-grasp phrase that
connects a specific animal to colors or places.
• Mad Libs – The same rollicking fun that
you remember from your own childhood is now available to your youngsters with
this free app, which packs all of the laugh-inducing power of its pen-and-paper
predecessor. Help kids learn parts of speech and the basic rules of grammar
while composing outlandish tales together through Mad Libs.
Though these apps are loved by
kids and are extremely useful at keeping them occupied in some situations, it’s
also important to remember that the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly
recommends that parents keep kids’ screen time to a manageable minimum. In
addition to their ability to stave off any bad behavior resulting from boredom,
using these apps together with your little one allows you to spend quality time
with your youngsters, even when they’re absorbed in the features of your iPhone
Source: babysitters
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