Monday, June 28, 2010

iPhone for Toddlers Part 1

With the release of the iPhone4 this past week, I thought I'd share some of the apps and such that we like for Tink.  I have an iPod Touch, my brother has the new iPhone, and my parents have an iPad.  No, I didn't leave my husband out.  He's content with his company Blackberry. 

My iPod is a great "I've tried everything" trick for calming and entertaining the kiddo.  It doesn't take up much room in my bag and is something I'd carry anyway.  They're surprisingly tough.  I have a cover on mine and the iPod has done just fine on more than a few falls to the tile floor.

I had downloaded a toddler app or two when I got the Touch for Christmas.  However, I realized its potential value while planning for our April trip to Walt Disney World.  This device would allow me to have games, videos, music, and photos to entertain the little one on our flights.  Once books, snacks, small toys, and tearing up the SkyMall catalog lost their appeal, I still had an ace in the hole.  Check out the full airline post here.

I'll review a few items at a time.  More will appear in future Mommy Monday posts.

TV Shows:  Episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are available through iTunes for $1.99 each.  I've only purchased one.  Tink still doesn't have much of an attention span and kids like watching the same things over and over and over anyway.  (Chris--Peter No Tail.  Ugh.)  We have Mickey's Color Adventure which is a cute story that teaches basic colors.  I love that They Might Be Giants does the theme music for this show. 

Podcasts:  Sesame Street has a free weekly video podcast.  Just subscribe through iTunes.  Each episode is 6-8 minutes long and can really buy you a little time.  The current series is focusing on one letter each week.  Older epidsodes are also available for download and those featured the word of the day.  Sesame Street is trying to be far hipper than I remember, so that's now called "The Word on the Street." 

Apps:  One of the best dollars I have spent on an app was for Toddler Phone.  It's a pretty simple app but Tink loves it.  It has 10 buttons like those on a phone and each makes a different noise.  There are 4 screens to reinforce different topics: numbers, animals, colors, and sounds.  The one called sounds includes things like a car horn, doorbell, baby laughing, and a train whistle.  This app can entertain for a long time, just keep the volume low. 

Photos:  Tink likes looking at the photos of the baby on my iPod.  I think she likes photo time with Granny and her iPad even more.  She's even learned how to swipe the screen to advance the pictures.  The photo viewer is simple and no extra charge.    

Do you allow your toddler to play with your iPod or smartphone?  What apps do you like?  Any funny stories?

3 comments:

  1. i have a Motorola Droid, and yes, my 3 year old plays games on it all the time, its a wonderful activity while waiting! We are disney bound in 7 days!

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  2. We got itouchs for both of our kids (yes I know they are spoiled but they have some good things). I like the Baby Einstein app that Disney has produced. It has some neat functions.

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  3. Tricia, I hope you have a wonderful trip!

    Ray, too funny! I've seen that app but haven't tried it yet. I'll check it out. I like some of the Fisher Price ones (future post.)

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