One of the big questions I get asked a lot about is screen time! Yes, my kids do get screen time. Screen time in our house comes in 2 forms: TV and tablet (we call it game time). Each morning our boys each get to pick a show to watch while we all wake up. The other time my kiddos get screen time is during Avery's nap. Cohen is allowed to play his game for an hour. I know, I know. That's a long time but hear me out:
1. I know my kid best. And I know that for him, game time is used productively and helps him to calm his body and center himself
2. It is the only time he gets to play anything without brother wanting to take everything he has
With all things, I believe in moderation and screen time is no exception. And we are lucky that we live in a time where so many educational apps are available for our little ones so I don't feel as bad letting him play as much!
Below is a list of some of our favorite apps for game time. As always, I would recommend downloading and trying them yourself first before introducing to your kiddos! This is what I always do! The BIGGEST issue I have/advice is if you like the free version - spend the $2 for the paid version! The only reason I say this is because the free versions play commercials and they are NOT always kid friendly. The paid apps have no commercials!
Educational:
Balloon Pop!:
This is a very basic one and is one of Avery’s favorites (he's 18mos)! There are balloons you pop to practice colors and letters. Super simple, not much substance but a good beginner game to get your little one used to operating a game.
Toddler Games for 2 year olds:
This is another popping game but is a little more substantial. You pick the skill to focus on and then it increases in difficulty asking them to tap that letter/shape/color/etc.
ABC Mouse:
I 100% recommend this one hands down. I used this in the classroom too and loved it. It does cost $10/mo but you get a free trial to test it out! My favorite is that you can customize the skills and lessons to your kiddo and you can use the app on your phone to track their progress as they go!
ABC Kids:
This one has pros and cons! Pro: It’s really good for pre-writing! That's the main reason I like it! They help your little one practice tracing the letters. It also has lots of other letter practice. Con: it doesn’t have the letter sounds correct. For example for B they say “buh” which is linguistically not correct. Most apps/teachers make this mistake too (putting an /uh/ at the end of letter sounds which is confusing). I didn't let Cohen start playing this one until he had mastered his letter sounds AND was old enough to understand that these sounds weren't correct.
Alphabet Aquarium:
I like this one because each letter has several activities to practice the name and sound. Your little one starts by building the letter, building an animal that starts with that letter, beginning sound picture puzzles. There's a lot of fine motor and repetition of each letter which is great!
Epic!:
This is another subscription but also has a free trial and it is BOOKS. So. Many. Books! Audio books, read to me books, it’s amazing! Definitely worth a trial!
Just for fun:
Tap Color:
This is a color by number app - Cohen is obsessed! They have kid versions too but he likes the adult challenge! While I put this app in my "just for fun" list it does work on color recognition, number recognition and fine motor skills (just not explicitly).
Car Wash:
Exactly what the name is, the kids wash cars. Cohen loooooves this one. 
Pipe Art:
This one is really challenging but really good for spatial awareness! It starts easy and gets harder. The goal is to make each pipe so that it fits within the box and doesn't overlap with another pipe. It's a lot harder than it looks!
Homescapes:
This is probably the funniest one that Cohen is into! There’s a little game you play to earn stars and then you use the stars to remodel a house
There you have it! Our favorites! What are some of your little one's favorite apps? I'm always on the look out for new and exciting educational (and fun) apps!
