Best Android Apps for Children Ages 3-7?
July 5, 2013 2:11 PM Subscribe
Looking for fun and possibly educational Android (not IOS) apps for kids ages 3 to 7. I just bought my almost 7-year-old an Android tablet and gave my 3-year-old my old Android phone, but I don't have any apps for them besides Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. There were some tips in this previous question, but it's already a little dated. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of apps are only for the iPhone/iPad platform. My whole family is about to leave on a long overseas trip, so I need some great apps to occupy their time. Thanks for the ideas!
Nighty Night is a delightful interactive bed time story that my just 4 year old (and 10 year old!) daughters both love. It has beautiful artwork and is very nicely put together and it's free! (There is also, of course, an option to purchase more animals for the story, but that is completely unnecessary to use/enjoy the app.)
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 2:35 PM on July 5, 2013
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 2:35 PM on July 5, 2013
Not educational, but I love Super Stickman Golf 2. Simple and they could play against each other.
posted by meta87 at 3:05 PM on July 5, 2013
posted by meta87 at 3:05 PM on July 5, 2013
Toca Boca is my favourite app maker, and they have just started porting to Android. Toca Hair Salon 2 is out for Android, and is a lot of fun, moreso for a 3yo of either gender, but my 6yo boy loves it too.
posted by Joh at 3:33 PM on July 5, 2013
posted by Joh at 3:33 PM on July 5, 2013
My girls who are ages 3 and 6 really enjoy these games I got from the Amazon app store:
Beck and Bo
Cookies and Milk (very short, but they play it repeatedly)
Cut the Rope
Grimm's Red Riding Hood
My First Puzzle
Pepi Tree
Peppa Pig (something about chickens in the name, I think)
Tizzy Seasons
Where's My Water
Hopefully that will get you started. I got many of these for free via the Free App of the Day, but I would have paid for any of them except the Cookies and Milk one.
posted by tacodave at 3:53 PM on July 5, 2013
Beck and Bo
Cookies and Milk (very short, but they play it repeatedly)
Cut the Rope
Grimm's Red Riding Hood
My First Puzzle
Pepi Tree
Peppa Pig (something about chickens in the name, I think)
Tizzy Seasons
Where's My Water
Hopefully that will get you started. I got many of these for free via the Free App of the Day, but I would have paid for any of them except the Cookies and Milk one.
posted by tacodave at 3:53 PM on July 5, 2013
Kevin Bradford has several apps -- Barnyard Games for Kids, Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Games, etc. They have some similarities, my kids really like them. Totally willing to pay for.
My 4-year-old is a savant at "Flow." He futzed around with it for a while until he figured it out, and now he can methodically solve any puzzle and he NEVER gets frustrated, he has a whole system. He will play it for MINUTES ON END.
Toca Boca ROCKS, I would pay for any of those ported to Android! The "Trainz" emulator is good too.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:07 PM on July 5, 2013
My 4-year-old is a savant at "Flow." He futzed around with it for a while until he figured it out, and now he can methodically solve any puzzle and he NEVER gets frustrated, he has a whole system. He will play it for MINUTES ON END.
Toca Boca ROCKS, I would pay for any of those ported to Android! The "Trainz" emulator is good too.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:07 PM on July 5, 2013
My two girls (5 and 3) are really enjoying Tinkerbell: Lost and Found. It's a hidden object game, but done with style and charm, and they demand it endlessly.
posted by Hogshead at 4:09 PM on July 5, 2013
posted by Hogshead at 4:09 PM on July 5, 2013
Possible educational app for the seven year old: Duolingo? The app is pretty great, and if you get her the SwiftKey keyboard, she can easily type in whatever language she's studying. My ten year old and I are hooked.
My other suggestions are probably just for the seven year old--I didn't have a smartphone when my daughter was three, so don't have much experience there.
My daughter started playing tower defense games when she was about seven--Plants vs. Zombies was an early favorite, and is relatively easy, because there aren't any tower upgrades, really.
Lil Kingdom is an oddly compelling game, and I've watched kids from about six to...well, to grown-up sit and happily play it for surprisingly lengthy stretches. Be aware that you can buy things in-game to speed stuff up, and if your kid tends towards impatience and/or whininess, you might want to think twice about this one.
Slice It! and Fruit Ninja might do well--I bet that even your younger one could play Fruit Ninja. Slice It! is more about precision, but Fruit Ninja (and its many clones) are just gleeful swiping and watching the fruit explode.
Triple Town has been weirdly popular with the kids I know--it takes a while to get the hang of, and then all of a sudden they're off.
Finally, my very best child-absorbing, time-sucking suggestion: Minecraft. My daughter has been hooked on the pocket edition of Minecraft since it came out when she was about eight. My cousin's son got hooked at about six. Have you daughter try the demo first, because the actual app is a bit spendy ($7?) but I've watched crazed, hyperactive children spend literally hours playing Minecraft on their tablets. It's like magic!
posted by MeghanC at 6:48 PM on July 5, 2013
My other suggestions are probably just for the seven year old--I didn't have a smartphone when my daughter was three, so don't have much experience there.
My daughter started playing tower defense games when she was about seven--Plants vs. Zombies was an early favorite, and is relatively easy, because there aren't any tower upgrades, really.
Lil Kingdom is an oddly compelling game, and I've watched kids from about six to...well, to grown-up sit and happily play it for surprisingly lengthy stretches. Be aware that you can buy things in-game to speed stuff up, and if your kid tends towards impatience and/or whininess, you might want to think twice about this one.
Slice It! and Fruit Ninja might do well--I bet that even your younger one could play Fruit Ninja. Slice It! is more about precision, but Fruit Ninja (and its many clones) are just gleeful swiping and watching the fruit explode.
Triple Town has been weirdly popular with the kids I know--it takes a while to get the hang of, and then all of a sudden they're off.
Finally, my very best child-absorbing, time-sucking suggestion: Minecraft. My daughter has been hooked on the pocket edition of Minecraft since it came out when she was about eight. My cousin's son got hooked at about six. Have you daughter try the demo first, because the actual app is a bit spendy ($7?) but I've watched crazed, hyperactive children spend literally hours playing Minecraft on their tablets. It's like magic!
posted by MeghanC at 6:48 PM on July 5, 2013
Talking Tom is a cartoon cat that parrots back things you say to it in a comical squeaky voice. I can tell you from personal experience that if you purchase it in Ohio, kids that age will find it hysterically funny for the whoooooole car trip back to DC.
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox was a lot of fun. I would actually recommend that one.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:41 PM on July 5, 2013
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox was a lot of fun. I would actually recommend that one.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:41 PM on July 5, 2013
I can't say enough good things about Zoodles (formerly Kidsmode). It's a program that encompasses tons of kids activities targeted towards their ages. You set up each kid with a profile and you can restrict access to only specific apps or the apps already pre-loaded by Zoodles.
posted by Octoparrot at 9:42 PM on July 5, 2013
posted by Octoparrot at 9:42 PM on July 5, 2013
FYI: "99.9% of new mobile malware detected in the first quarter of 2013 is designed to hit Android devices", according to a report released by online security firm Kaspersky Lab.
More info.
Anything else; iOS, Windows, Blackberry, Symbian, etc is safer. Will a seven year old know how to protect a device?
posted by Leenie at 9:43 AM on July 6, 2013
More info.
Anything else; iOS, Windows, Blackberry, Symbian, etc is safer. Will a seven year old know how to protect a device?
posted by Leenie at 9:43 AM on July 6, 2013
Response by poster: Some great suggestions in here. Keep 'em coming!
@Leenie - It's not a problem. There's a setting within Android that prevents buying Apps outside of the Google Play store. Apps within the Play store are checked for malicious code.
posted by Bushmiller at 2:52 PM on July 6, 2013
@Leenie - It's not a problem. There's a setting within Android that prevents buying Apps outside of the Google Play store. Apps within the Play store are checked for malicious code.
posted by Bushmiller at 2:52 PM on July 6, 2013
Jet Pack Joyride (Great to take turns on as each try is pretty short)
Bubble Shot (or other puzzle bobble/bust-a-move like games)
Super Hexagon (J/K though my 5yo and I do play it together, more as a joke)
posted by jclarkin at 4:16 PM on July 9, 2013
Bubble Shot (or other puzzle bobble/bust-a-move like games)
Super Hexagon (J/K though my 5yo and I do play it together, more as a joke)
posted by jclarkin at 4:16 PM on July 9, 2013
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posted by colin_l at 2:32 PM on July 5, 2013