The best apps for toddlers take into account how they learn and play, and focus on open-ended play and exploration. If you’ve decided to bring digital technology into a part of your child’s life, you can expand his or her learning using a variety of different apps. Have a look at our list of the best iPad apps for toddlers. Just make sure you have a good, protective case on that iPad!
The best iPad apps for toddlers
30 Jan 2021, by Cherry Mae Torrevillas
Musical Puzzles, a piano learning app for toddlers is a musical toy for babies and toddlers developed by an award-winning educational studio, 22learn. Children will love this app for toddlers with 10 engaging games that nurture the aspiring little musicians’ creativity, motor skills, and appreciation of sounds and music.
- LEARN to differentiate and match sounds
- EXPLORE the sounds of musical instruments
- CREATE your own melodies and record them
- PLAY with instruments and engage in several matching games
- LISTEN to popular childhood classics such as Old MacDonald
YouTube Kids was created to give kids a more contained environment filled with family-friendly videos on all different topics, igniting your kids’ inner creativity and playfulness. Parents and caregivers can guide the journey as your kids discover new and exciting interests along the way. YouTube Kids app review
- A safer online experience for kids.
- Customize your child’s experience with Parental Controls.
- Limit screen time: Set a time limit for how long your kids can watch and help encourage their transition from watching to doing.
- Flagging: You can always alert us to inappropriate content by flagging a video for review.
If your kid likes puzzles, then Puzzingo is sure to be a hit. Each piece in these puzzles is named so it helps your child build vocabulary while playing. It’s great for bilingual parents since it supports learning in different languages like Chinese, English, Japanese, Spanish, and UK English. Kids will work on cognitive, fine motor, memory, and spatial recognition skills. The game also appeals to many children with special needs and autism. It’s designed to be playable by adults and children together. The app comes free with 10 puzzles that include hundreds of pieces plus more to purchase. Kids Puzzles Puzzingo app review
- Core concepts like numbers, food, shapes, colors, and ABC
- Professionally illustrated and narrated
- Build different skills
- Interactive puzzles
- Free with in-app purchases
Phone for Kids is a great educational app that will give your toddler hours of fun. Kids will learn about numbers, shapes, colors, letters, days of the week, directions, animals, drawing, and more. It has more than 30 games and activities ranging from Bingo to Touch Dial Phone, Kids Guitar to Music Loops. Users can even send SMS messages to themselves! The app is free but some in-game items do cost money so make sure you restrict in-app purchases on your iPad before letting your kiddo take the helm. This is a great game for keeping kids occupied while you wait somewhere. Phone for Kids app review
- Over 30 games and activities
- Educational games
- Learn things like colors, shapes, numbers, days of the week, and more
- Keep your child busy
- Free with in-app purchases
If your toddler is like most kids, he or she loves Elmo, that funny red creature from Sesame Street. Elmo will help teach your kid about healthy habits, letters, and confidence during phone calls. Users can get audio calls, video calls, and voice mail from Elmo. Kids can even dial and call Elmo directly. Kids will see a live video of themselves in the corner of the screen while they chat with him. You can activate calls or schedule calls for different situations like bath time, going to the doctor, and using the potty. Elmo Calls app review
- Elmo teaches kids about healthy habits
- Kids can call Elmo
- Voice calls, video calls, and voice mail messages from Elmo
- Kids see a live video of themselves in the corner of the screen during calls with Elmo
- Can buy extra packs via in-app purchases
Cat & Kitten Coloring Book is a fun coloring app for kids of all ages. Users can choose color-fill mode so any selected area is colored with the desired color, or freehand drawing mode where colors don’t go over the border line, keeping it neat and simple. Kids can erase just little parts or completely reset a page back to the beginning. Pages can be saved, shared, or printed. The user interface is simple and easy for kids to figure out, and includes background music. This app will help improve eye-hand coordination and allow children to be creative.
- User-friendly interface for kids
- Freehand color mode
- Color-fill mode
- Save, share, or print finished pieces
- Free with in-app purchase to unlock all features
Kids Songs is a musical app that kids will love. Users will get to sing along and dance with fun characters with songs like The Alphabet Song, Lollipop, and The Muffin Man. There are classic tales to hear in the Musical Storybook section where kids will hear such stories as Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The Fun & Games page offers other activities like a coloring book, stickers, and more. Right now if you download the app you will get three free songs and two free storybooks included, with the rest available via in-app purchase.
- Sing and dance with the app
- Fun kids’ songs
- Classic tales in the Musical Storybooks
- Coloring book and stickers too
- Free with in-app purchases
Racing Penguin is a physics-based game where players have to slide and fly to escape from a polar bear. There are 40 racing levels and five worlds where players have to get through. The faster you go, the more stars you earn. Stars can be used to unlock new worlds. The multi-player option allows you to challenge friends. Of course most toddlers won’t use this feature, but no one will tell if you play it once in a while…shhh! Right now it’s free, so get this addictive game and start playing! Maybe even let your kid play, once in a while. Racing Penguin, Flying Free app review
- Physics-based game
- Slide and fly to escape the polar bear
- 40 levels and five worlds
- Earn stars and unlock new worlds
- Free with in-app purchases
The Wheels On The Bus is an educational app for youngsters, with 10 different games and activities. Kids will develop memory, logic, and hand-eye coordination. It’s a child-friendly, intuitive app that will spark your kid’s imagination and foster self-esteem. You get an interactive sing-along (The Wheels on the Bus) plus games and activities like a coloring book, Peekaboo Letters, Horn Piano, Car Race, Happy Bus Math, Tiny Train, Tap the Car, Vehicle Puzzles, Memory Match, and Bus Ride. The app is free to download and play but to access all of the features requires in-app purchases of individual add-ons or a one-time purchase for the full version. The Wheels On The Bus for iPad app review
- Educational app for kids
- 10 different games and activities
- Work on logic, memory, and hand-eye coordination
- Learn colors, vehicle names, math, and letters
- Free with in-app purchases
Barnyard Games For Kids is filled with educational games for toddlers and pre-schoolers. It’s suitable for kids 18 months old and up. All of the games are filled with fun graphics, animal sounds, and happy narrators. The free version comes with three games and the remaining nine can be unlocked with an in-app purchase. The developer says more games are coming soon. Some of the games available now are Toy Box Numbers, Animal Find, Balloon Burst, Alphabet Bounce, Shapes and Colors, Animal Memory, and Number and Alphabet Bingo. Parents can keep track of their kid’s progress in the Parents’ Menu section.
- Great graphics in each game
- Educational games for toddlers and pre-schoolers
- Comes with three free games
- More games coming soon
- Unlock all games with an in-app purchase
ABCmouse.com is an amazing educational app for kids aged 2 to 7. The app is linked to the website, with more than 5,000 fun, interactive learning activities. Your child will learn reading, math, science, art, music, and more. Kids learn through a variety of different activities like puzzles, games, books, songs, art, and even offline printables. Everything can be monitored by parents using the Progress Tracker. The app requires a subscription membership, which is available per month or per year. The nice thing about this is that kids can use the app unsupervised. ABCmouse.com app review
- Educational app for kids 2 through 7
- Over 5,000 interactive learning activities
- Science, art, reading, math, music, and more
- Parents use the Progress Tracker
- Free with in-app subscription options
