Best Apps for Toddlers

All-time Apps for Toddlers

These Dozen Apps Can Entertain Your Toddler

There are thousands of slap-up child-friendly apps available for iOS and Android, but finding software that's appropriate for toddlers can be a challenge. Children ages 1 to 3 can't read and are all the same developing their linguistic communication skills, while many take express manus-eye coordination. However, with the correct apps, youngsters tin can ameliorate their vocabulary, learn most the world around them, or at least stay calm while their parents are trying to eat at a eating place. (Only exist aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents severely limit their toddlers' screen fourth dimension, which includes TV, tablets, smartphones and computers.)

Here are 12 apps uncomplicated enough for 18-calendar month-olds and above to employ, but entertaining enough to keep them occupied.

Petting Zoo (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Play a trick on & Sheep's Petting Zoo app (Android, iOS) brings 21 beautiful drawing animals to life in an interactive motion picture book. Using simply simple swipe controls, kids and parents can play with different animals, such as dogs, elephants, large cats, and more. The app features animations by author and illustrator Christoph Niemann, and its cute designs and cartoon antics brand it a great app for parents and toddlers to savor together.

Avokiddo Emotions (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Can you cheer up a pitiful sheep or put a grinning on a giraffe's face up? Avokiddo Emotions (Android, iOS) is beautiful app that introduces kids to four cartoon animals (a sheep, giraffe, moose and zebra), that they tin interact with using a variety of props like nutrient, wearing apparel, toys and more. Each animal responds to the props in dissimilar ways, grin, frowning, laughing or crying, all rendered with lively animations. Parents tin can use it to help teach kids about emotions and torso linguistic communication, or but let them have fun with free play.

Artie's Magic Pencil (Android: Free; iOS, $2.99)

Artie's Magic Pencil (Android: Free; iOS, $two.99)

Kids and parents can join young Artie on his artistic adventures in Minilab'south Artie's Magical Pencil (Android, iOS), a kid's game that teaches basic shapes, while besides reinforcing values of altruism and empathy. Kids guide Artie forth his journeying, where he can use his magic pencil to help animals and people whose homes have been damaged by a rampaging monster. By drawing basic shapes, Artie's magic pencil can grow plants and trees, rebuild homes and machines, and help people in need. Kids tin play though the unabridged story, or go dorsum to the map redraw their favorite shapes and things.

Endless Alphabet (Android, iOS: $6.99)

Originator Inc's Countless series of apps focus on edutainment for kids. Endless Alphabet (Android, iOS) introduces kids to letters and words, presenting toddlers and children with a series of minigames. Children put words back together in easy and engaging spelling puzzles featuring talking words, and later, they're rewarded with brusk animations that explain each word'south significant.

Duckie Deck Collection (Android: $1.99; iOS: $2.99)

The Duckie Deck Collection (Android, iOS) is a neat series of six minigames designed for unproblematic, imaginative play by toddlers. Each minigame is designed to reinforce a diversity of habits, and skills, from educational activity intendance of pets past feeding zoo animals, tidying up a messy room. Plus, matching games encourage kids to try out fruits and vegetables. Interaction is very bones with taps and swipes, without requiring very fine coordination, and colorful art, audio furnishings and lively music help to keep your toddler'south attending.

Dr. Panda City 2 (Android, iOS: $3.99)

Dr. Panda Urban center 2 (Android, iOS) has players teaming up with Hoopa the Hippo to build an urban playground. Kids can combine a variety of elements to build houses, roads, train tracks, museums, shops and more, and a helpful combination guide recalls the building recipes they've already unlocked. Every bit your town grows, more cuddly animal people move in, and you lot can zoom in and play with them, placing them within buildings then that they tin can study in school, consume in restaurants, or play in your parks and plazas. This app is all near costless play, with no score boards or points, just an open world for kids to build the city of their dreams.

LEGO Duplo Railroad train (Android, iOS: Free)

LEGO'southward Duplo Train (Android, iOS) lets your toddler build and drive their ain toy train in this wonderfully animated trivial kids' activeness app. Your child takes the role of the railroad train engineer, choosing what carts to bring along, as well equally playing elementary minigames as the railroad train makes its journey. The app sports cute animations and numerous little details like plants and animals in the mural that y'all can tap to create sounds and actions.

Dr. Seuss Treasury (iOS: Free 7-day trial)

Dr. Seuss Treasury (iOS: Free vii-day trial)

The works of Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, are classics of children'southward literature, featuring fantastical illustrations of imaginative characters and easy to follow language. The Dr. Seuss Treasury brings together more l of Oceanhouse Media's digital adaptations of Dr. Seuss'southward works. In addition to the original text and illustrations, the app features digital extras, such as the ability to record your ain voice narration and vocabulary learning tools. Users tin admission the entire library complimentary for seven days, later which they're express to a free volume of the month, unless they sign upwardly for a subscriptions starting at $fourteen.99 per quarter, or permanently unlock the entire drove for $99.99.

Peekaboo Befouled (Android, iOS: $1.99)

Animated animals play peekaboo with your toddler in Night & Day Studios' Peekaboo Befouled (Android, iOS), a simple children's app that has friendly farm animals hidden backside the barn doors. Numerous animal animations can keep younger kids amused. Brute names and sounds add together a learning dimension. The app can display brute names in a variety of languages, such every bit English, Castilian, French or Mandarin, and parents tin can even tape their ain vocalization speaking the proper noun of each animal.

Toca Life: Subcontract (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Developer Toca Boca have made a name for itself with imaginative, child-friendly games, apps, and software toys designed to be advertizement-free and devoid of in-app purchases. Toca Life: Subcontract (Android, iOS) is a freeform blithe playset that allows kids and parents to explore life in a farm filled with cartoon people and pets. The app is designed with free play in mind, with kids exploring the farm to discover places and things to practice. Each location includes numerous interactive objects such every bit cows to milk, crops to harvest, and products that you can plough into nutrient. A bully characteristic is the ability to create your own stories, with the app recording your graphic symbol's movements on screen as well as your phonation.

Toca Nature (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Another Toca Boca offering, Toca Nature (Android, iOS) allows little ones to shape and interact a virtual world. From a bird'due south-eye view, kids can found trees and forests, heighten up mountains and create pools and rivers. Then, kids can zoom in and explore the virtual worlds they've created, climbing mountains, exploring forests and making sure that the animals that inhabit the earth don't go hungry. As with Toca Boca's other apps for kids, there are no high scores and no in-app purchases. One buy gives you and your child an entire virtual world to play in and explore.

Toca Cars (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Let'due south complete the Toca Boca hat fox with Toca Cars (Android, iOS), which transports children into a colorful, cardboard-cutout world that they can drive around and explore on and off the route. The app lets kids zoom effectually in a giant sandbox surround of cardboard houses, trees and vehicles. Leap off ramps, zero through puddles of molten ice foam, knock down everything so put it all support again with Crash'n'Restore. Best of all, a user-friendly Editor mode lets you set tracks, ramps, buildings and other objects, letting you and your child flex some creative muscles. As with other Toca Boca apps, this one is advertising- and in-app buy-complimentary.

Avram Piltch is Tom's Hardware's editor-in-chief. When he's not playing with the latest gadgets at piece of work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you lot'll discover him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC or coding plugins. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery exam.