The Best Toddler Apps That Your Kids Will Love

How much screen time should you allow your toddler to spend? This is a popular debate among parents, and everyone has varying opinions. There are now hundreds of educational apps for toddlers, and for many parents, these apps are a stepping stone to academic success. 

Over the past decade, a lot of people think that digital technology might be harmful, especially for the younger generation. However, research has shown that there isn’t enough evidence to support that belief. 

And so, there has been a change in tune about digital technology being harmful. Digital technology can help a young person develop his or her potential and boost outcomes. 

Whether or not to introduce educational apps for toddlers to your kiddos is your personal choice to make. 

If you’re ready to pop out your iPad to your kiddo, we’ve rounded up our top picks of educational apps for toddlers.

Our Handpicked Educational Apps for Toddlers

Astro Cat’s Solar System

Take your toddler to a wonderful blast off into space and explore the wonders of the vast and beautiful Universe with Professor Astro Cat and Astro Mouse. Astro Cat’s Solar System is one of the most downloaded educational apps for toddlers, and for many reasons. 

With this app, your toddler will discover planets, suns, spacecraft, moons, and everything in between. They will have lift-off and a fantastic adventure to our solar system—they can explore the vastness of space with the tip of their finger!

There are also Jetpack challenges that will award them with medals, which they can use to build a rocket. If that isn’t fun, we don’t know what is. 

Astro Cat’s Solar System is available on Apple App Store for only $3.99.

Here’s what others say about Astro Cat’s Solar System

“Very clever and witty, informative, educational, and easily engages the player. Professor Astro Cat is interesting, with happy, colorful illustrations as one navigates through the planets and solar system, and the personalized “ID” adds to the fun. My granddaughter enjoyed it, and she will spend fun hours with it, I highly recommend it!” 

GinaNinaNY

Zoolingo

The zoo has always been a fun place to learn many things about animals, but Zoolingo offers more than that. Zoolingo is a free-to-download educational app for toddlers that teaches the basics—from alphabets, numbers, colors, shapes, animals, occupations, to body parts, fruits and veggies, months of the year, opposite words, spelling, and preschool mathematics!

There are thousands of educational apps for toddlers out there, but many teachers and parents choose Zoolingo. The app has vivid and fun graphics, music, nursery rhymes, along with engaging puzzles and games. 

Zoolingo is available in 16 languages, including:

English, Arabic, Danish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Norwegian, Mandarin (Chinese), Russian, Spanish, South Korean, Swedish, and Turkish. 

Zoolingo is available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

Here’s what others say about Zoolingo

“If you have kids and are interested in games for toddlers that will act as a tool to develop their brains, you’re going to love this game. This kids’ game helps your child work on his memory and analytical skills. You may think these baby games don’t actually offer any improvements to your child’s mind but give it a try, and after playing for 1 hour, see how you feel 9/10.” 

OGbbq

Baby Games: Piano, Baby Phone

Entertain your toddler with Baby Games: Piano, Baby Phone. It’s a simple and colorful app filled with mini-games and plenty of educational activities to keep your toddlers entertained and learning. 

There’s a bunch of nursery rhymes, rhyming games, and baby songs for babies and toddlers to use at their fingertips. The app has five games: First Words, Music Room, Pop n’ Play, Fireworks, and Baby Phone. 

First Words is where your toddlers learn about the sounds animals make. They can play musical instruments in the Music Room, and pop balloons in Pop n’ Play. 

Fireworks is where your toddler can play with lights and create sound, and Baby Phone lets kids make a pretend call to an animal, and it will answer. 

Baby Games: Piano, Baby Phone is available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

Here’s what others say about Baby Games: Piano, Baby Phone

“This app has everything you’d generally want to engage and educate your little ones!” 

The Young Squire Pettypants

Sight Words – Pre-K to 3rd

Help your toddler get better and faster at reading by teaching them sight words (the most common words). Sight Words is among the best educational apps for toddlers designed to guide young learners to learn and memorize sight words. 

Sight Words uses flashcards and games to improve your toddler’s reading skills, phonics, and vocabulary. It incorporates the Dolch list (a list of the most commonly used set of sight words) effectively. 

The game uses unique learning modes to teach toddlers sight words, including Listen & Match, Bubble Pop, Sentence Maker, Mystery Letters, Sticky Words, and Bingo. 

Sight Words is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for free. 

Here’s what others say about Sight Words

“I love these games for my toddler. I don’t have to worry about ads randomly popping up on the screen. She loves them! Anyone with kids should get these, they are a big help. The characters give positive reinforcement and they even win prizes after completing so many levels.”

Azure’Ra Morganna

[Related: 8 Best Sight Word Apps For Your Children]

iColor App

Did you know that coloring can help toddlers develop focus and stimulate creativity? If you want to engage your toddler to color, then choose the iColor App. 

iColor App offers a wide variety of coloring pages, including Disney princesses, flowers, cars, patterns, and places. Toddlers can pick the colors they want to apply to their pages with just a few taps and swipes. With the iColor App, your toddler can express his/her creativity. 

This coloring app is not just for toddlers but for adults, too. And what better way to spend time with your kid than coloring? The iColor App is a great tool for toddlers and the whole family. 

iColor App is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

What others say about iColor App

“I love coloring, and this app beats all other coloring apps. My kids and I use iColor every day. I highly recommend it.”

jmonde16

ABC Kids – Tracing and Phonics

ABC Kids is one of the top-ranking educational apps for toddlers created by RV AppStudios, the same company that created the Sight Word app we’ve included in this list 

Fun, free, and simple, ABC Kids aims to help your toddler trace letters of the alphabet and learn phonics. The app is carefully designed to teach toddlers in an engaging way. Young learners will learn to recognize letter shapes, associate them with phonic sounds, and put their ABCs in fun matching exercises. 

Like the other best educational apps for toddlers, ABC Kids use colorful graphics and smart interface, without a single hint of third-party advertisement and in-app purchases. A totally child-friendly environment, indeed!

ABC Kids is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

What others say about ABC Kids – Tracing & Phonics

“This app is amazing! I looked at other apps, but they had ads or only 2 letters. This app is amazing! Within a week, my 2-year-old learned most of his letters and new words! I love this app, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an educational app.”

game reviewer

Coloring Games Painting Glow

Your toddler can learn a lot of things with Coloring Games Painting Glow. This educational app allows toddlers to paint by numbers, color by numbers, and doodle. They can also express their creativity in the free coloring books!

Coloring Games Painting Glow has a load of fun mini-games that toddlers and preschoolers will totally love! 

The Fun Paint allows them to fill in the blank coloring book pages with fun and bright colors. Use the Glow Pen to create unique artwork with neon colors on a dark background. The Number Paint lets kids fill in an amazing picture with color-by-number strategy. 

Coloring Games Painting Glow is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

What others say about Coloring Games Painting Glow

“Very good it has nice features it is safe for kids and it is educational game very good nice keep it up so I gave all 5 stars you also download it very nice and easy game.” 

BeTajBadshah Gaming

Busy Shapes

Increase your toddler’s critical thinking skills with Busy Shapes. Kids will slide a shape into the correct hole, which sounds easy. Yes. But as they progress, the puzzles become more challenging, pushing toddlers to think hard and find solutions to each puzzle through experimentation. 

It’s one of the best educational apps that truly evolve how young children spend screen time. With this app, toddlers aren’t just having fun but learning as well. 

Busy Shapes is available on the Apple App Store for only $2.99.

What others say about Busy Shapes

“I got this app when she was 10 months old. She started out by knowing where the pieces are on the iPad. After her first birthday, she slowly started to figure out the game. Now she is 17 months old and I see her understanding colors and shapes. How to get the pieces from one area to another. There are new challenges to every level. I definitely recommend this game if you’re looking for a fun and educational game for your child. I wish I could post how many levels she goes through. It’s really amazing to see her play this game.” 

Chi chee

Baby’s Musical Hands

Baby’s Musical Hands is among the award-winning educational apps in the market. Many parents and teachers approve this app because of its impressive features. 

This musical app features 15 brightly colored squares that toddlers can touch. Each color creates different sounds. For example, blue squares play guitar sounds, yellow squares play piano notes, and red squares make drum sounds. 

Plus, every time your toddler touches the screen, colorful stars will burst from their fingers. This educational app for toddlers will help your kiddos learn and familiarize different sounds!

Baby’s Musical Hands is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for only $0.99.

[Related: Top 10 Best Music Apps For Kids To Use And Listen To]

What others say about Baby’s Musical Hands

“My parenting does not involve screen time for my child. But I came across this app and it is PERFECT. It’s simple, clean, and minimal. My daughter (currently 15mo) loves playing music and pushing buttons so this is great. We can even work on colors with it.” 

wherescate

Vroom

Boost your toddler’s early education with Vroom, one of the best educational apps for toddlers. Vroom helps parents and toddlers by regularly providing tips that best fit the children’s age. 

You can use the activities suggested by Vroom to teach your toddlers life skills that can help them thrive. Enjoy over 1000+ fast and fun tips that are all scientifically proven effective. 

Vroom is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Here’s what others say about Vroom

“This app provides daily, clear and useful information. It is a pleasant reminder to continue to do what I’ve been with my three kids.” 

Nikki071503

Conclusion

It turns out screen time isn’t that bad at all. Toddlers can best use their screen time when they engage in fun and informative activities. Many parents have testified how the educational apps for toddlers in the list effectively taught their kiddos about alphabets, numbers, shape, and music.

Related Questions

What are other educational programs for kids?

Khan Academy Kids is a free and fun educational platform for young learners. They contain a rich library of curriculum and original content that makes learning fun for kids ages two to seven. 

I want to teach my kids to code. What app can you recommend?

We recommend Tynker, CodaKid, and Kodable. To learn more about coding apps for kids, check out our blog post, Top 10 Best Coding Apps for Kids.

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Do you know other educational apps for toddlers that you want us to include in this list? Let us know in the comments section below!