DIY app review: a skills for kids app

Introduction

DIY - Skills for Kids is an iPhone and iPad app that allows children to track their progress while attempting to earn various badges. It is a great motivator to keep your kids wanting to earn badges in the app to view and track their progress.

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DIY - Skills for Kids offers many different avatars for your profile. You simply set up an account with your avatar, nickname of choice, and age. Your age is never shared or seen, but you are able to choose different skills based on the age you select such as cooking and babysitting for older users versus hopscotch mastery for younger users.

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I like how easy it was to set up an account, and then select your first badge. I love gymnastics, so I began to explore this area first. It ranges from a front roll and other easier moves that don’t require any equipment, to creating your own floor routine and moves on the balance beam and uneven bars. I would love to be able to get back into gymnastics again and get into the shape I was in when I was practicing all the time!

How It Works

DIY - Skills for Kids works by getting your kids motivated to try something new. In the gymnastics badge, you can select as many skills as you’d like and check the to-do, or go straight to sharing a video to complete a challenge. If you’re having trouble, then others can critique your moves, and you can put the ideas into practice better this way.

I didn’t want to post any videos of myself doing front rolls and such when the app is designed for a younger audience, so I couldn’t check off and earn badges, however, my six-year-old is excited to start earning the gymnastics badge. She’s been in and out of gymnastics when we had the extracurricular time since she was three, and really enjoys the sport.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Free
• Easy to sign up
• Share videos of you completing skills to attain badges
• Individual profile with avatar and unique nick name
• Search by sets, new, all
• Sets include art, athletics, building, business, citizenship, design, engineering, exploring, growing, hacking, philosophy, science

Cons

• No way to just check off that you’ve completed a skill; you must post a video

Final Thoughts

DIY - Skills for Kids is a great app to motivate kids to learn and practice a new skill. With more than 10 sets to choose from, there are many different options to keep your child interested and motivated. I enjoyed sharing this with my children to show them the variety of options when it comes to thinking about future careers or hobbies. I enjoy the ability to switch between accounts for multiple children, and also the ability to view the profile with the many badges that your child has earned. I wish there was a way other than posting a video for a child to earn a skill, but I understand why proof is required to do so.