The Motherload Guide: Top Five Apps For Toddlers

Of course none of us would dream of parking our toddlers in front of the iPad while we got a few jobs done would we?! Who am I kidding – of course we would! We’ve all been there – just a few minutes of screen time allows you to get so much done (drink so much wine) without little people attaching themselves to your leg demanding a ‘duddle’ (which my toddler shouts repeatedly, with increasing volume, if I don’t pick him up immediately!). So in the interests of my fellow MOLOs being able to enjoy ‘wine time’ in peace I have put together my top 5 apps for toddlers:  

1. Top of the pops is the CBeebies Playtime app – fun, free and educational – what’s not to love? It includes all the favourite characters such as Octonauts, Tellytubbies and Alphablocks and each child can set up their own ‘profile’. The games get refreshed every so often too (I wasn’t sad to see the back of the Furchester Hotel game!).

   

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2. All the Duplo apps (I know a bit of a cheat but I couldn’t pick just one). Trains, ice-creams, circuses – they have it all – and they are phenomenally easy to use. They keep my two-year-old occupied for hours and of course are FREE with no irritating adverts or in app purchases. (An honourable mention must go to Duplo Food app if only for the fact that one of the tasks is putting the shopping away and cleaning the kitchen. Nothing like teaching them young!) Here are a few examples of the apps you can download:

    

3. Sago Mini Friends – this is another free app (there are paid for ones in the same series) and it’s a lovely game for little ones. The little animal characters go to their friends’ houses and do activities – it’s dead easy to use and passed the two-year-old test with flying colours.

   

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4. Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn – again a freebie, this app is great for helping little ones get familiar with the alphabet, numbers, colours and shapes. It has a slightly irritating giggling noise that (in my experience) can grate a little when you have a hangover!

   

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5. Justin Fletcher’s Jigsongs – I know, I know “not bloody Mr Tumble!” I hear you say, but you can’t deny that the kids love him (and this, at least, is his non-weird clown incarnation)! It’s a paid app but it’s only 69p and well worth it in my view. There are four different jigsaws to do (each has three levels of difficulty) and once you’ve completed it, Justin sings you a nursery rhyme. It keeps my littlest one entertained for hours. 

   

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6. And finally, one that didn’t make the list: YouTube Kids. On the face of it, it looks good, loads of kids shows to watch. BUT as fellow MOLO Caroline said: whatever they start watching, they always somehow find their way to the films where the bratty American kids are unwrapping ‘surprise eggs’. What is with those bloody eggs?!

   

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Thank you to everyone from the Motherload Facebook group who suggested apps to include on this list – if was a tough choice to shortlist so let us know your favourites in the comments!

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