So I’ve been asked this question a few times now — what apps do we have on our iPad?

Sorry, from a purely parenting point of view ah hahaha.

I know I know.  Experts say that no screen time is good time for babies and children. I have friends who have a strict no iPad policy for their kids and I am super in awe of their ability to enforce that hahaha. Honestly, we haven’t been able to and we’re not trying very hard wtf.  

My philosophy to everything is “moderation is key” after all (except maybe my addiction to Candy Crush FML oh god just typing this makes me want to open the damn game already wtf) so I believe we’re all right as long as we enforce time limits and rules for screen time.

That said, I think certain apps have actually been  very beneficial to the kids.  In fact, Fighter learned his alphabet and numbers from the iPad! I never used flash cards with him but he astounded me one day by narrating every single upper case letter correctly when I so happened to open a box of ABC cards. D:

And Penny recently showed off her newfound knowledge of barnyard animal names too hahahaha.  And it’s really all from the apps we’ve been using. :X

So here are my favorite apps for the kids.

Best Storytime: 30 Stories & Songs

Category: Fairytales & Nursery Rhymes

Category: Pink Fong/SmartStudy

When I downloaded it, the developer used to be called Pink Fong but now in the App Store it’s SmartStudy.  But this app is super worth it cos we’ve been using it for two years and Fighter still loves it.  It’s all fairytales told in a very simplified manner, for babies and toddlers to understand.  Each tale starts with a little song about the story, usually sung with a familiar melody and using very simple words.

I bought the entire 30 stories which cost me USD 25 or something.  Pretty expensive but very value for money since they love it until now.  It’s Penny’s current favorite app.

Best Kids Songs

Category: Fairytales & Nursery Rhymes

Category: Pink Fong/SmartStudy

This app is the songs version.  I bought the whole set and combined with free songs that pop up for download now and then, we have 45 songs right now.

These two apps are the best for entertaining the kids when we’re out. :X

Peppa Pig 2

Category: Fairytales & Nursery Rhymes

Category: Pink Fong/SmartStudy

(I was on a downloading kick from this app developer wtf).

I got this because duh, Peppa Pig.  Fighter’s one true love wtf.  The only thing I’m confused about is that it’s called Peppa Pig 2 but I can’t find Peppa Pig 1 anymore! I don’t know if they discontinued it to be honest, cos the episodes even start from 27 onwards.  I have episodes 27-52 though and this is also a value purchase for us!

After some research though, this Peppa Pig 2 is actually episodes from Season 1.  There’s a separate app called Peppa Pig Season 2 (also by SmartStudy) which contains Season 2 episodes obviously which I am downloading as we speakwtf.

I like Peppa Pig actually! I think it’s quite funny hahaha and I like their proper accents and pronunciation.  Peppa herself is a bit silly but she does impart some pretty good lessons.

Toca Band

Category: Music

Developer: Toca Boca.

This app does nothing but make music.  There’s a main stage with empty circle stages on it and at the bottom of the screen are different characters that make different sort of noises – repetitive melodies, percussion, and so forth.

It’s baby’s job to select the characters to create a unique song each time.  I quite like playing with it myself and the kids are really good at coming up with “concerts” on Toca Band.  I see this as an introduction to music. ^^

Peekaboo Barn

Category: Vocabulary

App developer: Night & Day Studios Inc.

This is another favorite of Penny’s.  Fighter has outgrown this cos it’s really very simple — more suited for babies aged 1 to 2 I think.

Basically, baby taps the screen and the barn door opens, featuring a new animal each time.  The animal makes its expected noise, and a child’s voice narrates the animal name.

And that’s how this girl learned her farm animals. Lolol.

I think it’s great cos the graphics are colorful and clear, and it’s super easy to understand.  Plus babies seem to love the cause and effect of tapping and having the door open.  The only thing is, this app costs money.  If you’re not sure, there’s a Peekaboo Barn Lite that you can download first to check it out.

Fish School

Category: Letters & Numbers

App developer: Duck Duck Moose, Inc.

This is the app that taught Fighter his ABCs!  The fish swim out in various choreography, making letters, numbers, and shapes, and colors.  Each different configuration is followed by a voice narrating the letter, number or shape.

There are also simple games – identifying different fish, finding matching fish and so forth.  

It’s also pretty interactive and engaging – touching different things will create a different reaction from the fish.

Peek-A-Zoo Lite

Category: Vocabulary

App developer: treebetty LLC

This is similar to Peekaboo Barn except that it’s zoo themed so the animals are from the wild.  I got the Lite version which has four animals.  The full version apparently has 15, and animal names are spoken in 5 languages – English, French, Spanish, German and Italian.

The kids seem pretty entertained by the sounds the animals make but I don’t know why I never found the urge to download the full version.  Lite version enough already hahaha *kiam.

Baby’s Musical Hands

Category: Music

App developer : Streaming Colour Studios

This is basically a rainbow musical instrument wtf.  Each row is one instrument: red for drums, yellow for piano, blue for guitar.  And each square is a different sound for the instrument.

So baby can go wild and rock on wtf.  Hahaha.  To be honest both kids have outgrown this but it’s still a nice app to have and I think it will really entertain younger babies or those who have just gotten exposed to the iPad.

That’s about all our favorites!

I try to keep our apps educational obviously, yet fun with enough music, colors and cute characters. ^^  If you have any favorite apps, please leave a comment! (So I can download too wtf)