Should babies use apps? The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Fisher-Price and Open Solutions.

The complaint challenges these companies on the claim that “apps for tablets and cell phones are educational for babies.” Laura Moy of the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law is working on the complaint with the advocacy organization. She offered this statement in the release:

These companies are violating federal laws that protect consumers by making totally unsupported and unsubstantiated claims about the educational value of their products … And not only are they breaking the law, they are unfairly taking advantage of well-meaning parents who want nothing more than to help their babies get ahead of the curve. The Commission should stop these practices and make crystal clear that if companies want to market apps as educational for babies, they must have evidence to back up their claims.

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Toca Band is today’s Recommended Children’s App of the Week.

The app encourages kids to experiment with found music. Kids can choose from 16 different characters, each that has their own unique musical sound, and arrange 48 different sound loops on stage. The $2.99 iOS app’s musical tracks includes a range of music from rock guitar to opera.

Here is more from the app’s description: Put your band members on stage to get the music started – then move them around and see what happens! Try out new band combinations, explore different sounds – and while you’re at it, why not give the lovable rapper, Stikk Figga something he always dreamed of: a solo performance!
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Learn with Homer is today’s Recommended Children’s App of the Week. The iOS app is designed to help young children learn how to read. The app mixes phonics lesson with classic children’s literature, science field trips, and interactive features that encourage preschoolers to draw and make recordings.

The app is free, but it requires you to purchase different reading lessons to really get into it. Here is more about it from iTunes:

Our comprehensive program covers the five pillars of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Interactive lessons begin by guiding children to hear, identify, and manipulate sounds. In time your little learner will master 44 phonemes—every sound in the English language—and use them in phonics to unlock words.

What children’s apps do you recommend? Please add it to our Recommended Apps for Kids directory. To share an app, fill out our simple form below. Once you complete it, your app suggestion will be stored in our growing database of great apps for kids. We will use this directory to plan features and share new digital tools with our readers.

You can also download an Excel version of the directory to sort the results for yourself. Read more

Fiete is today’s Recommended Children’s App of the Week. This interactive storybook for toddlers encourages young readers to accomplish tasks such as buttering sandwiches, mounting tires and loading ships.

Developer Wolfgang Schmitz created the $2.99 app for his own children and includes no in-app purchases or advertising. Here is more about it from iTunes:

We see “Fiete” as an alternative to the interactive children’s book: In a playful way, with attention to detail and design competence is the motor skills and the ability to combine the small encouraged. The game does not have any written instructions, making it suitable for children of all ages. Together with their parents, children learn to help “Fiete” in his everyday life. A total of fifteen tasks is waiting to be discovered by them. Sounds and animations are used to encourage and motivate the little ones.
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The Monster at the End of This Book is Recommended Children’s App of the Week. The $4.99 iOS app is based on the original Sesame Street book starring Grover. The app edition has been updated with digital elements including animations, narrations and a word highlighter.

Here is more from the app’s description:

The Monster at the End of This Book enhances the classic Sesame Street book with a completely immersive experience that draws children right into the story. Join lovable, furry old Grover as he tries his very hardest to tie down pages and build brick walls— all to keep readers away from the monster at the end of this book. The all-time favorite you loved as a child comes alive for today’s young readers with interactive play, plus touch-point animation. 



What children’s apps do you recommend? Please add it to our Recommended Apps for Kids directory. To share an app, fill out our simple form below. Once you complete it, your app suggestion will be stored in our growing database of great apps for kids. We will use this directory to plan features and share new digital tools with our readers.

You can also download an Excel version of the directory to sort the results for yourself. Read more

As younger generations get accustomed to using tablets and iPhones, handwriting may get lost in the gestures.  Enter the Lernstift, a Linux powered pen that gives a subtle vibration when you make an error.  The pen’s orthography and calligraphy modes are perfect for children learning to write and you won’t even need an app or computer to power the artificial intelligence behind the tiny computer.

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Disney has released a new iPad app called the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Painting app that lets kids create digital masterpieces.

The 3D digital coloring book is designed to teach kids about color mixing, texture, and symmetry. The $5.49 app lets kids decorate both Minnie and Mickey and make digital cupcakes using virtual paint, patterns, and stickers. Kids can even use an in-app camera to take photos and add new textures.

The app features a virtual magic wand that kids can wave to make their paintings come to life in 3D. Once the masterpiece is complete, users can share the files as either 2D or 3D images through social networks and email.

ABC Phonics Word Family is Recommended Children’s App of the Week. The app, which is available for iOS, Android & through Amazon’s App Store and Nook, helps kids learn phonics in a fun way.

The $2.99 tool includes 56 different phonics word family groups to help kids learn how to spell. Here is more from the app’s description:

The Phonics Word Family provides the word phonics spelling, beginning sound, word family phonics, short vowel sound, and images with a lot of animations and interactions for each word. There are a total of fifty six word family groups which focus on the short vowel, long vowel, two vowel, and combination vowel word family phonics learning. After children complete the phonics spelling in each group, the matching game follows and children can review what they learned. Read more

To celebrate its third anniversary, Peapod Labs has made its bestselling ABC Wildlife app free for the next 24 hours.

The educational app will help the kid in your life learn the alphabet with gorgeous pictures. Explore our Recommended Apps for Kids directory for more great ideas. Here’s more from the app company:

We have one last surprise in store for you to conclude the celebration of our 3-year anniversary. For the next 24-hours our first and most beloved app, ABC Wildlife, will be free. This app is where it all started so we want it to be a part of everybody’s app library. Make sure to spread the joy around!

Petting Zoo by Christoph Niemann is today’s Recommended Children’s App of the Week. This interactive storybook, which is available for the iPad & Android devices, brings simple drawings to life. When your child touches the drawings, they become animated and music plays.

The app is great for toddlers. Here is more about it from iTunes:

Swipe and tap the 21 animals and be surprised at how they react. This app combines the charm of hand made animations and Niemann’s wry humor with state of the art technology. What would an elephant in your bathroom do? Can a dog breakdance? A storybook app unlike all others!
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