Last year we have posted an article discussing what makes the app children-friendly. After it got posted I started to think about the parents also. Shouldn’t the kids’ app be parents-friendly in the first place? Let’s see how we could enhance the apps to keep both parties happy!

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 Children-friendly features making the app parent-friendly

As we talked in the mentioned article, there are many aspects that make an app children-friendly or not. For example it should not contain in-app purchases and ads disturbing child’s attention. In addition, it should be easy and intuitive to use the app. Finally, it should provide a value for the kids – it is just great if they can improve some practical or social skills while playing! Or just learn something new.

Guess what? Of course if the app satisfies these criteria, it is just great for the parents too! You do not have to help your kids out of the advertisement’s trap. You don’t have to constantly help the kid with navigation while he or she plays. You don’t have to worry about your credit card being ripped off via the in-app purchase! And you know that kids are not just wasting their time – they are learning. Can it get even more parents-friendly than that? I hope so.

Enhancements making an app even more parents-friendly

Well, there are some things on the top that can make an app appeal parents better.

Most of the parents are scared of noisy games. Therefore we suggest that the apps with “screamy” and disturbing sounds do not fall into the parents-friendly category. On the opposite, if the sounds and melodies are moderate and non-obtrusive (or can even be switched off) then the app is more acceptable for us, ever-tired parents. In short, parents-friendly apps should spare our ears!

And one more thing that makes the app parent-friendly is a balance between occupying the child for an extensive period of time and not making him or her over-excited. It is great if the kid can play during the longer waiting time or a car drive and not get bored. What we don’t want however is a child who cannot calm down after that. Unfortunately this may be sometimes the case with the addictive competition-style games. Therefore be cautious when you are choosing!

We hope that you find as many parents-friendly apps as possible (join our newsletter and learn how!). We also strive to make sure that our own apps satisfy as much of the above as possible. Do you think there is something more to add to the list? What makes YOU, a parent, like the app? What doesn’t? Tell us in the comments!

Dear friends!

Today is probably one of the most celebrated and important days in the year! Not only we survived the End of the World a few days ago (phew!) but we are also meeting a magical and wonderful Christmas today.

We wish you and your kids calmness, happiness and joy this day! If you have a free day, it is probably the best time to spend together with your kids. Let’s put our iPads and iPhones aside (I shouldn’t have said that) and go out to play with them and perhaps create something like this (if you are lucky enough to have snow!): Or something like this if you are lucky enough not to have snow: Merry Christmas to all of you!

Today I am happy to post an interview that we made just recently with Maria-Pia Gottberg. She is one of the creators of the doll Friendy which aims to help children to understand and accept their emotions.

I have written a few times about our upcoming app and finally decided to interview Maria-Pia herself. Who else can describe and tell about the concept than its creator? And she did. The interview is full of the tips that you can use right away. At the same time just in a few weeks you will be able to grab the app, play with Friendy and feel the difference it makes in your relationships with kids.

Here we go, our quick interview about Friendy:

Let us know what do you think in the comments! Also, follow us on Facebook and make sure you do not miss the app!

We are exited to announce that today we have updated the “Lite” versions of two our apps – Moo for Kids Lite and Animal Tiles for Kids Lite. We have been waiting for this for a long time and now it is there to show you the real potential of the full versions. Let’s discuss and take a look at each of the apps!

Moo for Kids Lite

This is a free app aiming to show you a preview of the Moo for Kids iPhone game. Its flow, animations and graphics are exactly the same as of the full game with the only limitation of 3 animals instead of 20.

The game is easy and fun to play, it is suitable for the toddlers and kids of 2-3 years old. Guess which animal said “Moo” and smile!

You can see how it actually works in the video below (just a note – the video is showing a full version):

Just download it here!

Animal Tiles for Kids Lite

This is another free app that we have. Here kids are collecting little puzzles in order to see the animal show! The game was designed to help kids to improve fine motor skills, logical thinking and problem solving skills. And to have fun too!

Let us show you a preview video of the app (and again – it is a preview of the full app, but you will get the idea):

Yeah, please enjoy them and have a great time with your kids! The apps are totally free and you can download them in the iTunes – Moo for Kids Lite and Animal Tiles for Kids Lite.

By the way, a kind reminder that we are running a crowd-funding campaign! Please support us and get the payback yourself! Thank you!

I was thinking if I should do this post longer or shorter. And since I have already written about our crowd-funding campaign just a few days ago, I will just go ahead and just post a video here. It explains it all!

And just to check what I am talking about here – please visit our campaign page on AppBackr!

Like it? Have some thoughts and suggestions? Let us know in comments!

If you have followed us for a while you already know that there is something big happening. We have teamed up with the company Mental Picture which is focused on helping kids to cope with their emotions. Currently they do it with the help of a specially designed toy Friendy. And very soon it will become an app. Or should we say “THE app”.

First things first

To start with, what is it all about? We have mentioned it a few times and will shortly do it here. The dolls that you have just seen deal with 6 basic feelings – anger, sadness, fear, discontent, happiness and calmness. Psychologists say that these feelings are the most common in our lives and many other emotions that we experience build on their top. Thus understanding these basic feelings may help us and our children tremendously in the everyday live.

Each feeling may be discussed with kids separately. You just take the doll and talk. Why does it happen? How to cope with it? When did you have it last time? What did you do? What should you do next time? Children can draw different feelings and situations, act themselves mimicking particular feeling, learn to accept and not be afraid of these emotions, learn to express and talk about them.

And now – you will be able to pick up the app and do the same! It is in the state of active development and will be released in early February. Kids will be able to do everything they could with real dolls and even more. It will be interactive, interesting and engaging. Check out some of the animations that we have created:

What are the positive effects? Children get to know themselves better – they build the self-esteem, manage to cope with negative emotions and stress, learn what they could do in the case they feel a particular emotion. As a result, they also become more empathic, able to communicate and build the relationship better and to be much more efficient in resolving the problems and conflicts in the future. Hopefully changing that future to the better.

Can you help?

We strongly believe in this idea. It is based on a psychological research and a great feedback from thousands of kids and parents using the dolls. But we need YOU to believe in it too. For the sake of your kids and other kids around the globe – to make them feel better, safer, happier.

There are many ways that you can help – spread the word, give suggestions and ask questions (info@appsandkids.com or just comments below), and finally – support our crowd-funding campaign on AppBackr.

It works like this – you give us a certain sum of money via this special platform. In turn we promise and AppBackr helps to ensure that when we start selling the apps we return you 50% more than you initially “borrowed”. It is an amazing win-win situation – we get more funds for marketing of the apps and you contribute to the idea, help spreading it and finally get your money back and even more!

If it sounds like a plan please visit our page on AppBackr, learn more about the platform and the project and give us some push! Thank you!

Have you been angry today? Have you been yesterday? If not, congratulations, you are happier than 90% of people on our planet. If yes – that’s totally fine. As we know, all the feelings are OK. Just not all the behavior.

Today we are starting a series of sneak peek videos presenting our upcoming app created in collaborations with professional psychologists from Mental Picture. And the first feeling is Anger:

One of the game-points in the app is asking yourself – why can you and others be angry? Let’s try it! Tell us in the comments – what can make you or your kids angry?

Three random commenters will get a little surprise!
(Please keep in mind that we will use the email you provide in the answer form to give it to you – and only for that. We respect your privacy!)

Recently I am in the middle of thoughts, debates and considerations about the different purposes that apps for kids have. Certainly, most of them aim to be fun since they need to invoke kids’ interest to play. At the same time quite a lot of apps and games boast their educational value and content. Can this be combined or not? Should it be combined in the end?

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We have special sentiments towards “Moo for Kids” app. It was our first app, it allowed us to learn important lessons, it gave us the joy of first downloads and it is a great fun for small kids. Now we have even better news. Fully updated and animated iPad app Moo for Kids HD is released. And we wanted to give you a small present – it is free!

Moo for Kids HD is an iPad version of our old good friend, iPhone app Moo for Kids. It also has two parts – learning and guessing. Your kids will explore a wonderful world of nature and listen to the real animal sounds. After this they will play a game trying to guess, which animal made a particular sound – “moo”, “wow-wow” or “meow”. This will help them to develop associative thinking, fine motor skills and memory. All being a great fun at the same time.

Of course, you would like to see it in action. Therefore, we have prepared a small video for you:

Don’t wait. Moo for Kids HD is FREE. No strings attached, no hidden advertising or in-app purchases. Download it here! (Interested in an iPhone app instead? This is the link).

Let us know if you like it! Thanks!

We are all stressed in our crazily fast world. It is not surprising that so many people experience emotional and psychological problems every day. We don’t know how to overcome them, how to understand and help others, even how to understand and help ourselves. What about our kids then? Can we help at least them? You can and this is how.

Psychology of feelings

Our communication with the others, good relationships and conflict managing in the end are all based on a “simple” understanding of ourselves and our own emotions. Only after you understand what does it mean to be sad can you understand what a crying friend feels. Only after you understand what does it mean to be angry, can you help someone else to calm down. And what’s important is that experiencing a feeling does not mean that we understand it.

Click Here to Read More