There certainly are a lot of iPhone apps on the market for little kids, but does that necessarily mean that you should hand your device over to your toddler? This article in the Boston Globe suggests that playing with the iPhone may even be good for your kid. What do you think? And have you found apps that feel good for your kid?

I have a few friends who are actively looking for good toddler/kid apps. Does any one have suggestions?

How about real life leggos or building blocks?

I know I know, listen to this guy that doesn't even have a kid yet, what a jerk.

A couple of years ago I'd have rolled my eyes at parents who'd buy an ipod touch for their infant to play with. But, then I turned into one of them.

To offer some background, I'm a bit techy, and I'd previously been donated a couple of truly broken 1st gen iphones from different friends. I had tried to frankenstein them into a working unit, and was entirely successful in getting one working phone from the bits, except for the part where it wouldn't actually work as a phone. (i.e., all the apps, wifi, touch screen, etc worked, but the thing couldn't make or receive calls). So, given that it was pretty bruised, and didn't work as a phone, it sat on my shelf for months.

I have a current iPhone. My wife has a working older one too, and my little bub at around one and a half wanted to play with them all the time. So, I figured, I'll give him the frankeniPhone on my shelf as a decoy and save the working ones- it didn't cost me anything, and wasn't really in a state that it could be sold, so what was the harm?

He started getting good at using it. Scarily so, to me. He could slide to unlock, and he could tap at the icons. So, I added a few apps that I'd already bought for my phone that seemed suitable, like 'Bloom', a touch feedback ambient music generator by Brian Eno




I thought I might see if there are actually apps for toddlers (and there were). And he loved them. It worked wonderfully when Mum or Dad needed 15 minutes of quiet time in the late afternoon. Or, especially if we wanted to go out for breakfast together, and he started getting a little antsy pre or post-eating.

But, around last Christmas, he dropped the phone at the wrong angle and half the screen stopped recognising touch input. I'd (stupidly) never bothered to put a protector on his phone - I'd paid nothing for it, and it wasn't fully functional, so paying $40 for a case didn't seem like a priority. But he was pretty sad when he'd sit pushing at the screen and it wouldn't work. It broke my heart to see him wanting to play the broken phone but it not doing what it should. And thus, I became what I never would have previously imagined - a parent who bought their infant an iPod Touch.

And a big thick rubbery case for it.

I should possibly defend myself now by saying that I never pushed him to use it. And we control when it's handed to him, and for how long. It generally lives outside of his reach and field of vision, and at a maximum he'd use it for 30 minutes a day overall in shortish sessions. I've read articles that suggest kids shouldn't use a computer till they're seven (see www.rodale.com/computers-and-children ). And, I mostly agree with the points made in the above article on the second page about protecting children from the downsides of computer use. But, I think a kid not using a computer till they're seven is going to severely limit their education and place in the world. I figure it's better than him watching tv because it's interactive, and when used in moderation, may give more benefit than the feared cost. He gets taken to the local parks nearly daily. We go for walks. He takes part in playgroups, etc, so it's not like he's a zombie in front of a electronic box for hours at a time.

My son's now just over two years old now (25 months), and I'm not really sure what 'the norm' is, but he's able to count to ten, recognise and say nearly all letters, a number of colours, shapes and animals.

So, all in all, while I don't let him use it all the time, and have some minor concerns about its impact, yes, the iphone/ipod touch is for my kid and I'm glad he's got it.

For others who want to check out some apps, here's what I've found for him so far (some free, some have free 'lite' versions, and none are very expensive). Note that bold ones are the ones which my son's liked best. italics are ones that he didn't get anything much from. Also, he loooves Curious George, which is why there's a lot of monkey stuff

- AlphaBaby
- Letter Quiz
- Monkey Preschool LunchBox
- Monkey Preschool: When I Grow Up
- My First Words Lite: Animals
- ThumbDrum
- Wheels on the Bus
- Whizzit 1 2 3
- Bloom
- BubbleWrap
- Curious George Coloring Book
- First Words
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (just kidding!)
- iPacify: Monkeys
- The Little Red Hen - Kidztory 1
- Parents Magazine iPlay 'n' Learn
- Preschool Adventure
- Whizzit Words
- Glow Hockey 2 (ok, I bought this for myself primarily)
- Mandy and Andy Renovating
- Toy Kit

This is an interesting discussion to me. I like what mbd is doing about limiting time with the device.

This is not criticism, I just want to discuss what was mentioned about children under 7 and electronic devices. My wife is a second grade teacher. Most of her students are addicted to either their iPhone or Nintendo DS. It's frustrating because that's all they want to do in their free time and even during class. When my wife talks to them or their parents, it is made clear that these "electronic toys" are used to babysit and entertain their children for most of their free time.

I want my children to have varying interests. I want my children to be readers in their younger years like me and my wife were growing up.

My question to you dads: How do you handle balancing iPhone (and other electronic handhelds) usage with other things like reading or other hands on activities?

Toddler? Maybe not. But my 4 year old plays games on my iPhone all the time. She loves it!

Depends. How much money do you want to throw at your kids for stuff they really don't need? I'm not cheap when it comes to buying kid stuff, but I really, really think kids spend waaay too much time on their damn phones. Younger kids? Do they actually need a phone? If they really need mobile games, buy them a PSP or something for games.

FYI, for mobile 'gaming', the iPod Touch is cheaper than a PSP, both in initial hardware outlay, but especially for the software titles. Additionally, there's much more software leaning towards education on the iPod Touch as compared to the PSP.

Interesting, I didn't realize PSPs cost that much. I should have guessed at the game prices though, knowing what they charge for console games.

I know I'm ranting on the topic a bit. I'm not actually anti-computer games or anything, I just feel that kids have become a bit TOO consumed with their electronic gadgets. I can't go anywhere without seeing teens, and even younger kids, constantly glued to their phones while they are WITH other friends. It's almost as if they are living in a different world then the one they are walking in sometimes.

Whew, I know I'm gonna come off as awfully curmudgeonly here, but I'm opposed to this.

A little background: I'm a career IT guy, loves me some gadgets, and has a fair bit of tech goodies at home. But I'm also nearing the tail end of Gen X and maybe that, along with the style of my own upbringing, makes me very conservative about this stuff.

It seems that our society has a cavalier & overzealous emphasis on pushing technology on kids with almost no consideration for the consequences thereof. The next generation will be enslaved by technology to a degree that we can't even begin to fathom. Computers & gadgets will dominate almost every facet of their lives. We owe it to our children to ensure that they've had ample opportunities to learn how to exist in the real world before thrusting them headlong into the inescapable cyber-world. The ability to communicate well - both verbally & non - without the aid of a machine is vital.

Specific to the question of cell phones, I'm firmly convinced that they steal the independence and rationale from children who carry them. Those kids no longer have to mentally map out what they'll be doing for the remainder of the day or if they'll need something from someone else at some point in the day. Instead, they wander blindly off into the day, knowing that they're never more than a button-press away from a parent who'll swoop in and rescue them at the last minute. Gone is the need to sort out & solve their own problems.

Even beyond the expense of cell phones, I have to wonder how, given that few adults truly even have a legitimate NEED for instantaneous, continuous connectivity, do you justify a smartphone for a child?

Or maybe I'm just a stingy, crotchety stick in the mud...

Talking about the best interesting and educational iPhone apps for kids I would like to mention about Kinder Hangman - that is specially designed to improve vocabulary of kids and help them remember new words. It is iTune link of the game. This iPhone app works to improve child's development and can be used to prepare kids for school. It is intended for kids of 4-6 years.