While it’s important to limit screen time, educational apps can help your child develop a variety of skills – from numeracy, literacy, hand-eye coordination, colour recognition, first words and more.
For safe screen time with your little one, follow these golden rules:
Try the apps you download before giving them to your child.
Play the game or app with her at first.
Set a timer to limit screen time.
Choose apps to boost development.
If your child uses an app by herself talk to her about it afterwards.
Relate what she sees on screen to the real world, explaining any differences.
See 10 awesome (free!) apps for one year olds in the gallery below …
Educational apps can help boost your child’s development. (Image: Getty Images.)
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10 awesome (free!) apps for one year olds
Kinderling Kids Radio: Australia’s most popular kids radio station plays family-friendly music from Sia to Sesame Street. Play and download songs and stories and make bedtime a breeze with the Sleep Soundtrack programs. Plus there’s parenting advice, meditation and more.
(Google Play & iTunes)
Color Drops: The coolest colouring book! Let your little one’s artistic abilities flourish with this fun and interactive app. There’s more than 230 colouring-in pages with everything from dinosaurs to princesses.
(Google Play & iTunes)
ZooMoo: ZooMoo on Yahoo!7 TV is the world’s first fully interactive TV series starring amazing wildlife and animals, puppets and animation. Download the app so your tot can play along and learn as they watch.
(Google Play & iTunes)
Endless Numbers: Learning numbers doesn’t have to be boring – this app makes it fun. Numbers come alive as animations offer meanings for each one.
(Google Play & iTunes)
Peppa’s Paintbox: Fans of Peppa Pig will love creating artworks using paints, ‘magic’ drawing tools, stickers and more. And you can save the finished result on the camera roll of your phone.
(Google Play & iTunes)
TinyHands Towers 1: Developed with certified child psychologists, little ones build towers in the correct order and learn to sort objects by size. The game has 15 boards with varying difficulty levels.
(iTunes)
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Nose: Tap, tilt or shake the screen to interact with Puppy and Kitty who will teach your bub about body parts, body movements, first words and greetings.
(Google Play & iTunes)
The Wiggles: Fun Time with Faces!: With augmented reality (AR) technology, your child can literally join Emma, Simon, Lachy and Anthony for interactive sing-alongs, videos and more. Access sample content for free, then if you like what you see, pay for a subscription.
(iTunes)
YouTube Kids: This app offers a safer and simpler way for children to watch their favourite shows and videos. There’s also a suite of parental controls where you can create individual child profiles, collect favourite channels, block videos, set a timer and more.
(Google Play & iTunes)
ABC Kids iView: Your tot can watch her favourite shows – including Bananas in Pyjamas, Octonauts and Play School.
(Google Play & iTunes)
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