Whether you want to keep up with your kids or just keep them busy, iPhone has lots of family-friendly apps.
Plan some fun.
Fun is just around the corner with Kidtivities. Scroll through 40 great activity ideas you can enjoy with kids two to six years old almost anywhere. Search by indoor or outdoor activity or shake to see what random project comes up. If you’re out with your kids in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mom Maps suggests local parks, playgrounds, kid-friendly restaurants, and museums.
Available on the App Store
Did you know?
You can prevent kids from stumbling across the wrong things on iPhone. Just tap Settings to add parental controls that ensure your kids see only what you want them to see.
Teach and learn.
School is wherever you are with Preschool Adventure. Enjoy six different learning activities with your toddler: colors, numbers, shapes, body parts, matching, and sound.
Available on the App Store
Make it count.
Download Cute Math and let your little ones get an early start on math basics. They’ll have a blast learning number sequences and addition and subtraction concepts as they drag apples into baskets, line up penguins, count parachutes, and more.
Available on the App Store
Talk with your hands.
Help your baby “speak” with a little help from Signing Time ASL Dictionary Flash Cards. Flick through 145 flash cards and learn signs for everything from apple to zebra. Design quizzes to test your progress, and turn on vibrate mode to buzz when you need to guess again.
Available on the App Store
Listen in.
With Babyphone, you can turn your iPhone into a baby monitor — no matter where your baby falls asleep. Just enter your home phone number or tap in a new number and place it next to your sleeping baby. When iPhone hears your baby wake up, it calls you.
Available on the App Store
Get some advice.
Whether you’re at home or in the grocery store, Parenting Preschoolers will help you learn effective parenting techniques on the spot. Search for advice by topic and find solutions for many common situations.
Available at the App Store
Keep a log.
Sleep-deprived moms and dads will be happy to discover Baby Log. Keep track of feedings, naps, baths, and diaper changes. Or create custom categories. Then export the data and get an overall view of the week’s stats. Baby Daily Log Pro lets you keep a log of your baby’s growth and temperature, store photos, record and play back your baby’s first words, and more. Download Total Baby to create personalized diary and milestone entries for your newborn.
Available on the App Store
Learn to read.
With apps like ABC Animals, learning has never been more fun. These engaging, interactive flash cards teach young children to recognize, say, and print the alphabet. Tap to hear the letter name, associated animal name, and phonetics. Then download FirstWords: Animals and your little one can push letters into place to form words — and bring colorful birds, lions, and 32 other animals to life. Make story time interactive with Bumblebee Touchbook. Touch the words of this adorable bumblebee story to hear them out loud and watch them animate. Or sit back and enjoy a short 3D movie.
Available at the App Store
Mix and match.
Your toddler will have tons of fun learning the names and sounds of animals hiding in the Peekaboo Barn. Guess which animal is making noise inside the barn, then tap to open the doors and find out. Download AniMatch and help kids build cognitive skills as they try to match super-cute animal graphics with sounds. Or mix things up with AnimalPuz. Kids will giggle as they spin tiles around to match up body parts of cartoon animals.
Available on the App Store
Play a game.
Your kids aren’t the only ones who’ll enjoy taking a swing at Backyard Baseball. Aim for the coded targets as you try to earn singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. Then line up for a postgame treat with Scoops. Flick and tilt to see how many ice cream scoops you can catch, but be sure to avoid the vegetables. The higher your score, the faster the scoops fall.
Available on the App Store
“Mommy, can we keep him?”
If you’re not quite ready for the real thing, download FooPets Marley Puppy and adopt a virtual yellow lab based on the one from the best-selling book and hit movie Marley and Me. With just a tap, kids can feed, pet, and play with this adorable pup. The best part? He doesn’t shed.
Available on the App Store
