Child Development: The Top Educational Apps & Games
Last update: 4/2/2024
Navigating the vast world of educational apps can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to understanding child development and what's right for your child. As a parent, you want the correct educational apps and games for your child's age and specific needs in their development stage. Our lists include games and apps that not only entertain but also offer significant educational value, covering subjects from math and language to critical thinking and cooperation.
What Are The Must-Know Child Development Theories?
So, where do we begin? Understanding child development theories is crucial for parents, educators, and professionals working with children. These theories offer insights into the various stages and aspects of psychological, social, and physical development from infancy.
Key theories include Jean Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory, which focuses on how children construct knowledge as they interact with the world, and Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, which emphasizes the role of social interaction in development. Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Development Theory outlines how personality and identity evolve with social interaction as a catalyst, while Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory highlights the importance of observation and imitation.
Each theory provides a framework for understanding how children grow and learn, enabling adults to support their developmental needs better. While there isn't one correct way of raising a child, knowing how incredible thinkers and educators have learned from the past is always beneficial!
Understanding Child Development Age Groups
So far, we've learned about some of the most popular child development theories, but let's take a look at what will probably help you the most as a parent: child development ages. We are going to split this article into seven distinct age brackets for child development; those are newborns (0-3 Months), early infants (3-6 Months), late infants (6-12 Months), toddlers (1-3 Years), preschoolers (3-5 Years), early school age (5-10 Years), and finally, late school age (10+). Knowing which development group your child belongs to will help you understand what they should be learning and how far along they are in their educational journey!
The Best Educational Apps & Games For Child Development
Here are the best educational apps and games depending on your child's development stage. They will be broken down into the developmental age groups we discussed previously. Let's jump in!
Newborns (0-3 Months)
This initial stage is all about sensory development, bonding with caregivers, and responding to basic reflexes. Newborns start recognizing voices and exhibit early social behaviors like smiling.
Sensory Boxes
As a baby, your first introduction to the world is through the senses you have, and they'll be the first thing you'll improve to have the world make sense. So, parents out there, perhaps a sensory box is what you need. From shakers to shapes, a sensory box can offer babies many options to explore their senses.
https://www.littlepeanutcompany.com/product-category/pre-made/
Go Black-And-White
Did you know that humans can’t efficiently see all shades of colors until they are at least 5 months old? That means before this age, your child might struggle to see certain shades of colors. Studies have shown that black-and-white activities help by showing clearer contrast, outlines, and shapes to kids.
https://www.tts-group.co.uk/early-years/babies-toddlers/black-white-resources/
Rest In the Fourth Trimester
Your child's development doesn't start with them, it starts with you! For mothers, the fourth trimester, or the first 12-week period directly after giving birth, is often neglected. Your child will learn from you much more efficiently if you are fit and healthy. So, keep moving, stay healthy, and be there in your child's developmental journey.
https://thebloommethod.com/blogs/blog/rest-recovery-and-exercise-in-the-fourth-trimester
Early Infants (3-6 Months)
During these months, children develop recognition skills, showcase social smiles and begin to explore their surroundings with their senses and their strength to help support them.
Early Learning Walkers
Babies start to support themselves between three and six months old, standing up, moving their heads, and exploring the world a little more like us adults. An early learning walker is amazing, specifically something that is propped up, encouraging infants to support their weight while learning.
https://www.elc.co.uk/c/baby/baby-walkers
Time To Babble!
That's right, it's time to babble. Kids at this development stage are going to start imitating speech and picking up on their cadence and tone. While research is inconclusive as to whether baby speech is good or bad, it will certainly help your child to hear you speak normally, as you would to other adults; this will give them a better example to copy!
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/babys-development/play-and-learning/help-your-baby-learn-to-talk/
Montessori Materials
One educational method that focuses on child self-reliance at a young age is Montessori. This method relies on excellent, simple materials that are easy for early infants to understand but help improve their recognition and cognition skills through games and activities. These include sensory bottles, water play, and treasure baskets!
https://www.homeandontheway.com/blog/montessori-activities-3-6-months
Late Infants (6-12 Months)
This period sees significant physical milestones such as crawling. Babies often say their first words and develop object permanence, understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.
Let’s Grasp!
Between six and twelve months, kids are going to start grasping things and really interacting with their environment. As simple as it may sound, simple activities like self-feeding, peeling tape, and whisking or stirring can be incredibly useful for late infants.
Get Up And Move
At the late infant development stage, kids want to move! Free movement and supporting themselves are more important than ever, so between six and twelve months, play games, sing songs, dance together, and get those shakers and wooden spoons out to make some noise!
https://www.petitjourney.com.au/activities-for-babies/
Kinedu
The first app on our list is Kinedu. Kinedu offers personalized baby development activities, tracking, expert classes, and a supportive community for parents and their little ones. As kids pass the late infancy stage of child development, tracking their progress might just be a game changer for you!
Toddlers (1-3 Years)
Toddlers gain mobility with walking, experience rapid language development, and show signs of independence. This stage lays the foundation for critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Hand-Eye Coordination
At the toddler stage of development, kids are going to be using their bodies like never before. This involves coordinating the world around them with what they do and see. Hand-eye coordination games like throw and catch or puzzles can really help with this.
https://www.theottoolbox.com/playing-with-color-toddler-play/
Get Talking
Language improves dramatically as a toddler, so play games that encourage talking and communicating with your child! Making animal noises, singing songs, or labeling objects are all ways to introduce new sounds and vocab into your child's life.
PBS Kids
Next up, PBS Kids can be a super useful tool. PBS Kids offers a wide array of educational games featuring popular characters from PBS shows, designed to enhance children's learning in areas such as math, science, and literacy.
Preschoolers (3-5 Years)
Preschoolers enhance their social skills, engage in imaginative play, and begin foundational learning. They start understanding group dynamics and form their first friendships.
Don’t Stop Gaming
Gaming should not be underestimated when it comes to preschoolers. Cambridge University in the UK found that gaming could be this age group's most useful developmental activity! Try board games like Snakes and Ladders or simple card games!
SplashLearn
Between three and five years old, kids really start to grasp technology, so it’s best to embrace it and get them on apps that can aid in their development. SplashLearn offers game-based learning with over 8,000 math and reading activities aligned with common core standards.
Social Skills
Social development in preschoolers is a big deal and, at this stage, should be something to focus on. As a parent, think about play dates, a preschooler club, or simply having your child engage with the world more by saying thank you or sorry in appropriate situations.
Early School Age (5-10 Years)
Academic and motor skills are refined. Children develop deeper friendships and a sense of self-awareness. Their interests broaden, and they start understanding their strengths and weaknesses.
Fine Motor Skills
Early school-age development is key to perfecting motor skills. Try activities that support fine motor development, such as sewing, painting, clay molding, or even Lego building!
Fonetti
Specifically, between the ages of seven and eight, proficient reading truly cements itself in children. Fonetti, a reading app using speech recognition to improve kids' fluency and confidence, is an incredible tool to take your kid's abilities to the next level.
National Geographic
Engaging children's interests is key in the early school-age development stage. National Geographic is a great place to start exploring different subjects, with an emphasis on social studies, geography, and subjects they'll learn at school.
Late School Age (10+)
Children develop critical thinking and complex social interactions. They begin forming stronger identities, with interests and friendships becoming more defined and influential.
Word Tips
In the late school stage of development, children start to come into their own, and their vocabulary is better than ever. Resources such as word tips promote understanding language learning through word games. You'll also find a bunch of useful articles as a parent that can push their education forward in tons of different subjects.
Coding
That's right; coding isn't something reserved just for adults; kids can get started with it quite early on! Coding with kids is a great way for children to dive into the world of coding, helping them understand problem-solving at a whole new level.
https://www.codingwithkids.com/
Google Earth
Google Earth is the ultimate tool for children to learn their place in the world and understand the geography and geology of our planet. Google Earth education is a must-know site that will spark your child's passion for discovery.
https://www.google.com/earth/education/
Conclusion
In the digital age, educational apps and games have emerged as powerful tools for child development, offering diverse learning experiences that cater to various interests and educational needs. Hopefully, the educational games and apps in this article provide a foundation for lifelong learning, inspire creativity, encourage healthy learning habits, and facilitate the development of children to the best of their capabilities. Have fun learning!