"Top 10 iPad Toddler Apps for 2012"

Wheels on The Bus

Parents nowadays could not help but be tempted to give their iPads to their little ones, but finding apps that are perfect for toddlers can be quite difficult. You want them to be simple, easy-to-play, and–most of all–safe. Here are some of the highly-praised toddler apps for 2012 that are available on the iPad.

Wheels on the Bus (pictured), $0.99 – Produced by Duck Duck Moose, this app introduces toddlers to a more visual version of the children’s song “Wheels on the Bus.” Kids love this classic song, as visualized through simple drawings. Interest points are activated by tapping and sliding.

Lego Duplo Jams, Free – Duplo is the toddler version of Lego, with construction bricks that are twice the size of Lego building bricks. The app, meanwhile, is a collection of mini games that allows toddlers to build, learn the alphabet, and match objects. Lego Duplo Jams requires a bit of adult supervision, not because it has adult content, but because its user interface is built with an adult in mind. Toddlers usually just click elements randomly, but Lego Duplo Jams comes with a “front menu” and “back to the menu” buttons that young children might not understand. The mini-games, meanwhile, are kid-friendly and the music sounds fresh.

Make a Scene: Farmyard, Free – In an adult perspective, “Make a Scene: Farmyard” can be really boring as all you could do is drag a bunch of animals and tractors from one side of the screen to another. However, toddlers find such activity enjoyable and satisfying. Once placed on the screen, the animals and farm equipment make a sound if you touch them. There are several countryside scenes to select and dozens of animals to choose from.

Toca Train, $1.99 – This app features a 3D virtual toy train that looks like the wooden models back in the day, traveling through a beautiful 3D countryside landscape. There isn’t any “mission” the kids should complete, but they can pretend to be the train engineers and ride it in a first-person point-of-view.

Toy Story Read Along, Free – This iPad app features a toddler-friendly version of the original movie, which parents can read to their kids to sleep. The story has basic animations and several hotspots, wherein parents or children can press to hear the characters talk. Its only flak, however, would be the excess elements that children would not be able to grasp at first, such as clicking a “mouse ears” button to adjust advanced features, as well as a painting mode that comes with an “email this coloring page” function.

Five Little Monkeys, $12.99 – This is an e-book version of Eileen Christelow’s beloved Five Little Monkeys book series. Each story is narrated and can be either be auto-played or turn the page manually. It does not have hotspots, which may be intended to keep toddlers from getting distracted.

Green Eggs and Ham $3.99 – While Dr. Seuss books were aimed at older kids, toddlers can enjoy the easy repetitive manner of “Green Eggs and Ham.” Just like “Five Little Monkeys,” this e-book version can be auto-played or flipped manually, with a narration that children can understand.

Elmo’s Monster Maker, $3.99 – Parents can never go wrong with apps based on Sesame Street characters. “Elmo’s Monster Maker” allows toddlers help Elmo build monsters from the ground up. Kids choose the body of the monster first, followed by deciding whether it should be big or small and orange and green among others. After choosing which pair of eyes, hat, and nose to put, the monster is ready to play and interact with Elmo.

Letters A to Z, $0.99 – Ironically, there aren’t much decent ABC’s app for toddlers until “Letters A to Z” by Refresh Media. What makes this unique is in the details, featuring a user interface that even a 1.5-year-old can operate with ease. All letters are laid out on the screen. Tapping one of the letters brings it to focus and displays a short animation about the letter. Clicking the focused letter plays its pronunciation. The interactivity this app has provides plenty of enjoyable play time.

Fish School HD, $1.99 – Produced by Duck Duck Moose, “Fish School HD” presents a unique way to learn numbers, letters, colors, and identifying different objects. The fish group together to form different shapes and sizes, as well as numbers and letters. They can also just party along with lively music. The interface is activated on touching and tapping, which makes it usable for the youngest of toddlers.

Source: Best Toddler Apps