Updated at: 27-03-2023 - By: Eden Wise

Overview

Keeping kids occupied isn’t always easy, but it’s especially difficult when they’re out of school. It can be challenging to find apps that provide kid-friendly, developmental content in bite-sized pieces, despite the fact that today’s kids spend a significant portion of their day on tablets, phones, and other electronic devices. Screen time as a learning tool can be both useful and enjoyable, especially since many educational apps now feature games to make learning more engaging.

In order to find the best apps for kids, our experts and consumer panel evaluate them on a number of criteria, including their usability, appeal to kids, cost, and potential for technical problems. Dozens of apps were evaluated, and these are the ones we think are the best. Whatever your child’s age, from preschool through high school, they’re sure to find something here that will keep them entertained while also filling in some knowledge gaps and providing some much-needed support. Download the best apps for kids in 2022 and make sure you have a fully charged phone (or portable battery)

Best Apps For Kids

Best apps for kids

Khan Academy

The thousands of free resources on the Khan Academy app range from elementary math to art history, making it a favorite of educators, parents, and students alike. This non-profit organization has created a wonderful resource for kids of all ages, from preschool to high school. There are no subscription costs or other hidden charges; you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want. Our guinea pigs’ parents have praised the videos for allowing their children to learn at their own pace. If you have young children (aged 4 and under), you may want to check out Khan Academy Kids, a child-friendly version of the original app available for both iOS and Android.

Nick Jr.

Nick Jr.

With the Nick Jr. app, parents can stream their children’s favorite shows anywhere, anytime. This app features videos from every Nick Jr. show, as well as a variety of games starring characters from those shows (both educational and otherwise).

Some features of the app will be unavailable until you enter your cable company’s details. The features your child will enjoy the most—full episodes and a ton of games—will still be accessible even if they don’t have it.

Duolingo

The Duolingo Owl (the app’s mascot and icon) has been a popular meme in recent months, so it’s likely that your high schooler is familiar with the service. Prompt them to take language learning to the next level by downloading the app.

Your kid can keep their language skills sharp over the summer by doing audio, word identification, and oral exercises in over 30 different languages. Also, this app is suitable for use by adults.

Homer Learn & Grow

With Homer Learn & Grow, families with multiple young children don’t have to worry about losing their customization settings, as up to four child profiles can be added to a single account. The onboarding process includes a series of questions about your child’s task performance skills, which testers love because it allows for a more tailored learning experience. They also like the fun extras, such as the “record your voice” feature in the phonics section. Math, reading, and social skills can all be taught with a focus on deep thought. It’s important to know that if you don’t want to continue with the subscription after the free trial ends, canceling it can be a hassle.

Simply Piano

Simply Piano

Simply Piano is a fun, interactive way to learn the piano for both complete beginners and rusty old hands alike. All of our in-house pianist testers agreed that using the app was an enjoyable and inspiring way to improve their skills. One of the reviewers said she “loved” the program because of how “accessible” and “simple” the lessons were. Another said the highly structured program gave her the much-needed structure and responsibility.

ABCmouse.com

With its emphasis on Reading, Math, the World Around Us, and Art & Colors, ABCmouse is one of the best apps for kids, laying a solid groundwork for future learning and giving kids a head start. The ABCmouse.com website and app both exist.

Hundreds of educational games, videos, quizzes, and activities can be found on ABCmouse.com. All of the games have voiced instructions, making them accessible to children of all ages. This app is great for teaching young children the alphabet, letter sounds, counting, math, art, science, music, and phonics in a playful and engaging way.

Epic!

Over 35,000 children’s books in multiple formats (picture books, early readers, chapter books, Read-to-Me, and Audiobooks) make Epic! one of the best apps for kids. Your children will never again whine about having nothing to read thanks to Epic! It’s unlimited reading, with fresh titles added every week.

Epic! is designed for kids aged 2 to 12, and it provides each user with tailored book recommendations based on their reading level and interests. This helps kids find books that are just right for them, eliminating the frustration that can come from picking out books that are too easy or too difficult. Your child’s reading history can be viewed in Epic! along with the titles and total reading time for each book. A weekly email will be sent to your inbox with the same information, keeping you abreast of their development.

LetterSchool

LetterSchool

Using tracing, puzzles, videos, and songs, LetterSchool makes learning the alphabet a breeze for young children.

LetterSchool’s three-step method of instruction (learn the starting points for each stroke, trace the letter, and write the letter without hints) is highly effective in teaching letter writing. LetterSchool is an elegantly crafted handwriting app that will help your kids learn to write upper and lower case letters, as well as numbers from 1 to 10, in a lively and engaging manner. Young children can use the entertaining Letter School app to learn their letters and practice their handwriting.

Coding Games For Kids To Play

Kidlo Coding is a great introductory coding game that can help kids learn this crucial skill. Coding Games for Kids uses sequential visual coding to introduce coding concepts to young children. The app uses a variety of engaging games to introduce kids to coding while also helping them develop problem-solving skills, logic, and memory.

Using sequential visual coding, children’s games introduce coding concepts to even the youngest of programmers. With over fifty engaging games, this app helps kids learn to code while also fostering problem-solving skills, logical reasoning, and memory development. While the free version of the app has its limitations, the paid version has over a thousand levels to teach the fundamentals of programming. The app instructs users in the fundamentals of programming, including sequences, loops, functions, and arrays.

Toca Nature

Toca Nature is like a cross between Populous and a children’s nature guide. Without getting their hands dirty, your little person can create hills and dig channels for rivers and lakes. After the trees are planted with taps, the rabbits, bears, fish, and beavers begin to saunter around their natural areas.

Your child can then look down on their creation with the awe of a god or zoom in for a closer look, using the magnifying glass to feed the furry and finned subjects with acorns and fruit.

Thinkrolls: Kings & Queens

Thinkrolls Kings & Queens

Every game in the Thinkrolls series is fantastic, but the newest installment adds a touch of royalty to the series’ trademark logic and gravity puzzles (in that the roly-poly protagonists wear crowns, unless you play as a chicken, of course).

The objective is to make a way through the maze so that the plump protagonist can proceed. The catch is that doing so necessitates learning to operate a wide variety of mechanisms, such as gears, bridges, hatches, and even a harp that can put to sleep a normally voracious crocodile.

This is the perfect way to get kids interested in video games without them even realizing it will get their brains working overtime.

BBC iPlayer Kids

While we adore BBC iPlayer, it’s a little too simple for children to “accidentally” watch something horrifying that could leave them traumatized for life or, even worse, interested in EastEnders. Therefore, the BBC has created BBC iPlayer Kids, which cleverly restricts children to programming from CBeebies and CBBC.

There are no advertisements, the user interface is sleek and straightforward, searching is quick, and shows can be downloaded for offline viewing, just like the regular iPlayer. That’s why we watched 20 consecutive episodes of Danger Mouse to ensure the app was up to snuff before including it here.

My Very Hungry Caterpillar

The most famous and gluttonous larva in the world is the star of numerous holey books, some of which have been forced into apps. This one, however, stands out as something of a digital companion.

The wriggler eats cheerfully whatever is placed in front of him after hatching from an egg. After that, it’s time to play, which may involve such activities as a belly slide on an icy pond, frantic smacking of a bouncy ball, or the popping of bubbles. We can only imagine that once the caterpillar has become a butterfly, your own little critter will want to begin the process all over again.

Thinkrolls Play & Code

Preparing your children for success in today’s digital world begins with teaching them the fundamentals of coding and problem solving. Thinkrolls Play & Code is an award-winning educational entertainment app designed for children ages 3-8, developed by the specialists at Avokiddo.

With a wealth of pre-coding concepts baked into every move, Thinkrolls Play & Code enables young children to solve puzzles, overcome complex challenges, and craft their own adventures. Over a thousand Arcade Logic Puzzles and maze courses will help kids develop their analytical thinking and problem-solving prowess. As they bounce and roll through various mazes, kids will have to solve problems based on math and physics.

The app’s selection of Brain Games will keep your child entertained while they improve their cognitive abilities, memory, and motor skills. Games like “Find the Odd One Out” and “Sort A Lot” from the category “Brain Games” encourage kids to look for and identify differences in familiar shapes and patterns.

By guiding a variety of creatures through a variety of challenges, Thinkrolls Play & Code teaches children perseverance and strategic thinking. With Thinkrolls, your child can try out various strategies until they find one that works, so don’t worry if they don’t solve a puzzle at first.

Thinkrolls Play & Code provides children with a wide variety of games and logic puzzles to try out, as well as the opportunity to create their own original puzzles. Using a simple drag-and-drop interface, players can construct their own unique Thinkrolls and equip them with various accessories they find throughout the game.

Children can begin their journey to becoming coders while being immersed in a vibrant, captivating cartoon world that teaches them spatial awareness, the importance of planning ahead, and more. Thinkrolls Play & Code allows them to safely share the puzzles they create with the community, unlike other basic educational apps. Having others try out their puzzle will give your child a sense of accomplishment and help them feel like a real inventor.

Thinkrolls Play & Code is here to help you unlock your child’s inner programmer and artist.

Coolmath Games

Anyone, from 13 to 100, can enjoy the math games and activities available on Coolmath Games. With Coolmath Games, you can exercise your brain while having a good time. These games don’t feature any blood or gore, just a ton of puzzles that will make you forget you’re exercising your brain. Pigs that can fly, bears that ride scooters, zombies that like to eat pigs, and more! Both iOS and Android can use this app.

Fish School

Your preschooler will learn the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, matching, and more through Fish School. With a simple touch and drag, your child can make the brightly colored schools of fish swim and do funny things, forming letters, shapes, and the numbers 1-20. Both the Parents’ Choice Gold Award and the Editor’s Choice Award from Children’s Technology Review went to Fish School. This app works on both Android and iOS and is suitable for children as young as 2.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why educational institutions should invest in mobile app development. Apps are a great way to pique students’ interest in learning and development because of how heavily they rely on their mobile devices.