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Let's admit two things right off the bat. Number one, we want less screen time for our kids to allow more space for creative play in the real world.
Number two, sometimes, handing over a phone or tablet is worth it when you just need that little reprieve.
Screen time and toddlers
The Canadian Pediatric Society has created a great report highlighting the development benefits and risks related to screen time for children of various ages.
This is such insightful information. While we want to limit screen time, it's basically unavoidable. So it's best to arm yourself with a little bit of science-backed knowledge to help you make informed choices.
For nearly a decade now, I've been writing about tech for some of the most well-known publications on the internet, and I host an on-going technology TV segment on a national Canadian show.
With this background in mind, I've been scrutinizing apps that are geared toward kids / parents with additional interest since having twin boys.
After trying out many, here's a short list of the three apps I think every parent should test themselves, so they can decide if it would be right for their kids.
1. Minitechno
Minitechno is a delightful app that works on phones and tablets to encourage play, learning, and development.
Through five different games within the app, kids will be challenged to recognize letters and numbers, improve their dexterity in a light-up colour challenge, and enjoy creative play and building (backed by principles of physics) by stacking digital blocks.
Parents will find a lot of fun, nostalgic notes in titles like the flashcard-style game highlighting everything from Tamagotchi to the old school peer-to-peer file sharing sight Kazaa. Or enjoy some musical fun with the built-in piano player.
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Minitechno
Kid-Friendly Games
For learning, development, and play, Minitechno reimagines classic toys and experiences from childhood for the digital world. The app is available on a vareity of devices and was developed alongside parents and educators to make a kid-friendly and family-safe experience.
None of the games are a win/lose type of scenario, so they can be enjoyed over and over again without concerns of boredom setting in. You'll find a more in-depth review on this app right here.
2. Disney Coloring World
What kid doesn't like to sit down with a crayon in-hand and a blank sheet of paper to work on a masterpiece?
In the early days of parenting, I would leave my sons with a box of crayons or markers and a stack of drawing paper at their little art table and slip into the other room to quickly finish unloading the dishwasher or gathering up the garbage, all the while, smiling to myself about my talented sons being quietly enthralled in their artwork.
These are the thoughts of an amateur and inexperienced father.
After returning one too many times to discover that tables, furniture, or walls had turned into canvases for the boys' artistic talents, I now understand there is a place for digital art. See our tips for dealing with these kinds of messes right here.
Disney Coloring World is an app for iPad and Android tablets that lets kids colour their favourite Disney characters. It's very intuitive and simple to use when switching between tools like a marker, brush, and more.
Plus, artwork is organized by movies and characters, making it easy for even young kids to navigate and find their favourites. To enhance the end result, a toggle can be flipped on within the app to prevent kids from colouring outside of the lines. But, of course, kids will have just as much fun scribbling in a rainbow of colours over Mickey, Moana, or any other Disney character.
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Disney Coloring World
For Young Artists
Disney Coloring World is available for Apple and Android devices and includes support for touch or a stylus. While this article is meant to highlight apps that will be enjoyed by kids, truly, this is one that a parent can pick up every now and then and also find very enjoyable and relaxing.
And those finished works of art can be easily saved and shared. This means there's not the same wracking guilt that comes from traditional child-made artwork that hangs proudly on the fridge but eventually moves on to a gallery inside of a recycling truck.
3. Air Out!
All of the other apps in this list are meant to be for kids. But this one we're putting on the list is here to support parents who need a space to let out any thoughts that may be weighing them down.
At a time when most social apps reward users for getting the most comments or likes or stirring the pot to create controversy, Air Out takes a very different path.
At first glance, Air Out looks like a feed from any other social app, with a list of comments from users. But, dig a bit deeper, and you'll see a major difference.
The app calls itself an "anti-social" app. This is because there's no way for users to interact with or identify each other. There are no usernames and no profiles to click. You can't even comment on posts made by other users.
The app is organized in different "chats" based on relevant topics for parents. From there, users can post a comment of 100 characters or less. The idea is that you can share your parenting-related thoughts, whether they're good or bad. Having a safe place to air out these frustrations may lighten the load for you, without burdening, hurting, or wearing out anyone else you might normally confide in.
Air Out!
For parents who want to share their thoughts without feedback or judgement, Air Out! can provide the perfect release. It's available for Android and iPhone users and is free to try.
There's also a dedicated section just for bragging. Because your kids are awesome, and your friends may be growing a little tired of hearing about how awesome they are, but you just gotta tell someone!
For a deeper review of this app, find our full article here.
Final thoughts
Parenting in the digital age has major pros and cons. With the ease of access to education and entertainment, reaching for a tablet or a phone to help your kids learn or distract them is an on-going temptation.
But if you load your tablet with tools that have been thoughtfully designed by quality developers, it can remove a little of the guilt that comes from giving them access to screen time.
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