An Instagram connection asked me to share my recommendations for iPad apps for kids. While my four-year-old has an iPad, we do our best to limit her time on it and are strict about which apps and games are installed.
I know that many parents strongly oppose iPads. However, we have found that they can be hugely helpful when we travel, when our daughter is home sick, or when I am not feeling well. Sometimes you want your child to sit still and be safe; the iPad can help make that happen.
I have found some iPad apps for kids that have educational value. Some games teach letters, numbers, basic spelling, arithmetic, and more. My daughter enjoys puzzle and drawing apps, too. I love how these apps let her do a puzzle or artwork with zero mess.
Heads up! Some apps allow for in-app purchases.
Just a gentle reminder that I am just a real mom, not a parenting expert.
iPad Apps for Kids
PBS Kids
The app is the best! It provides access to full episodes and clips of PBS shows, including Daniel Tiger, Superhero Elementary, Sesame Street, Work It Out Wombats, Alma's Way, and Wild Kratts.
I prefer that my child watch PBS shows since they usually have educational content and/or teach values.
PBS Kids Games
A collection of dozens of games inspired by PBS shows like Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger, Clifford, and Scribbles and Ink. The Lyla in the Loop-inspired game lets kids create hairstyles, Scribbles and Ink is a drawing game, and Alma's Way has a dominoes game.
These games are cute and appropriate for little kids. Some games are also available in Spanish.
Yoto
If you have a Yoto player, be sure to download the Yoto app. Here, you can save all of your cards for listening without the Yoto player. You can also create your own recordings, play sleep sounds, and listen to kid-friendly radio and podcasts.
I think that Tonies has a similar app.
Khan Kids
My favorite of all the iPad apps for kids, Khan Kids is an incredible free app with educational content focused on reading, learning letters, math, and logic. An index organizes content based on age so that you can select work at the preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade level.
YouTube Kids (separate from YouTube)
Be careful here. The app has lots of low-quality content. We found the Diana and Roma channel to be heavily promoted but terrible. The children are often misbehaving, and the parents are foolish. It seemed to negatively impact our own child's behavior. For example, she suddenly found it funny to misbehave and say "Na na na na boo boo".
If you want to let your child access YouTube Kids, I recommend limiting the channels that they can access. We have it limited to Miss Rachel, Disney Junior, BBC CBeebies, Peacock Jr, PBS Kids, and The Learning Station.
KidloLand Coloring Club
This app has a variety of games, including a drawing pad, coloring games, letter games, and cooking games. While these aren't the most educational games, sometimes it is easier to let a child draw with a tablet game so they don't make a mess. The silly cooking game where they mix ingredients and make cakes, doughnuts, or pizzas is one of Gwen's favorites.
ABC Kids
A Lucas & Friends app, which is free and has no ads, focuses on the alphabet. Kids can practice tracing and identifying letters. This game has kept my daughter occupied on planes for hours.
Puzzle Kids
Another Lucas & Friends app with lots of puzzles. Users can choose puzzles that are 4-36 pieces.
Splash Learn
This app has a subscription fee, but I like the quality of this learning-focused app. It contains collections of reading and math-focused games that get progressively more challenging, and there are live classes, too.
Feel free to share your favorite iPad apps for kids in the comments!
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