Skip to main content
Tom's Guide Tom's Guide
Subscribe
RSS
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
Technology Magazines
(opens in new tab)
Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)
Why subscribe?
  • The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviews
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12.99
(opens in new tab)
View (opens in new tab)
  • Best Picks
  • News
  • Reviews
  • How Tos
  • Phones
  • Streaming
  • Deals
  • More
    • Antivirus
    • Audio
    • Coupons
    • Fitness
    • Gaming
    • Home
    • Laptops
    • Mattresses
    • Personal Finance
    • Security
    • Smart Home
    • TV
    • VPNs
    • Wearables
    • What To Watch
    • All Topics
Forums (opens in new tab)
Trending
  • iPhone 15
  • ChatGPT
  • Galaxy S23 Ultra Review
  • Galaxy S23 Review
  • Best Laptops
  • Best TVs

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. Best Picks
  3. Android

Best Apps for Toddlers

By John Corpuz, Avram Piltch
published 28 April 2017

There are thousands of child-friendly apps available for iOS and Android, but finding software that's appropriate for toddlers can be a challenge. Here are 12 apps simple enough for 18-month-olds to use, but entertaining enough to keep them occupied.

  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Comments (7)
These Dozen Apps Can Entertain Your Toddler

These Dozen Apps Can Entertain Your Toddler

There are thousands of great child-friendly apps available for iOS and Android, but finding software that's appropriate for toddlers can be a challenge. Children ages 1 to 3 can't read and are still developing their language skills, while many have limited hand-eye coordination. However, with the right apps, youngsters can improve their vocabulary, learn about the world around them, or at least stay calm while their parents are trying to eat at a restaurant. (Just be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents severely limit their toddlers' screen time, which includes TV, tablets, smartphones and computers.)

Here are 12 apps simple enough for 18-month-olds and above to use, but entertaining enough to keep them occupied.

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13
Petting Zoo (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Petting Zoo (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Fox & Sheep's Petting Zoo app (Android, iOS) brings 21 cute cartoon animals to life in an interactive picture book. Using only simple swipe controls, kids and parents can play with different animals, such as dogs, elephants, big cats, and more. The app features animations by author and illustrator Christoph Niemann, and its cute designs and cartoon antics make it a great app for parents and toddlers to enjoy together.

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13
Avokiddo Emotions (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Avokiddo Emotions (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Can you cheer up a sad sheep or put a smile on a giraffe's face? Avokiddo Emotions (Android, iOS) is cute app that introduces kids to four cartoon animals (a sheep, giraffe, moose and zebra), that they can interact with using a variety of props like food, clothes, toys and more. Each animal responds to the props in different ways, smiling, frowning, laughing or crying, all rendered with lively animations. Parents can use it to help teach kids about emotions and body language, or just let them have fun with free play.

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13
Artie's Magic Pencil (Android: Free; iOS, $2.99)

Artie's Magic Pencil (Android: Free; iOS, $2.99)

Kids and parents can join young Artie on his artistic adventures in Minilab's Artie's Magical Pencil (Android, iOS), a kid's game that teaches basic shapes, while also reinforcing values of altruism and empathy. Kids guide Artie along his journey, where he can use his magic pencil to help animals and people whose homes have been damaged by a rampaging monster. By drawing basic shapes, Artie's magic pencil can grow plants and trees, rebuild homes and machines, and help people in need. Kids can play though the entire story, or go back to the map redraw their favorite shapes and things.

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13
Endless Alphabet (Android, iOS: $6.99)

Endless Alphabet (Android, iOS: $6.99)

Originator Inc's Endless series of apps focus on edutainment for kids. Endless Alphabet (Android, iOS) introduces kids to letters and words, presenting toddlers and children with a series of minigames. Children put words back together in easy and engaging spelling puzzles featuring talking words, and afterwards, they're rewarded with short animations that explain each word's meaning.

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13
Duckie Deck Collection (Android: $1.99; iOS: $2.99)

Duckie Deck Collection (Android: $1.99; iOS: $2.99)

The Duckie Deck Collection (Android, iOS) is a neat series of six minigames designed for simple, imaginative play by toddlers. Each minigame is designed to reinforce a variety of habits, and skills, from teaching care of pets by feeding zoo animals, tidying up a messy room. Plus, matching games encourage kids to try out fruits and vegetables. Interaction is very basic with taps and swipes, without requiring very fine coordination, and colorful art, sound effects and lively music help to keep your toddler's attention.

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13
Dr. Panda City 2 (Android, iOS: $3.99)

Dr. Panda City 2 (Android, iOS: $3.99)

Dr. Panda City 2 (Android, iOS) has players teaming up with Hoopa the Hippo to build an urban playground. Kids can combine a variety of elements to build houses, roads, train tracks, museums, shops and more, and a helpful combination guide recalls the building recipes they've already unlocked. As your town grows, more cuddly animal people move in, and you can zoom in and play with them, placing them inside buildings so that they can study in school, eat in restaurants, or play in your parks and plazas. This app is all about free play, with no score boards or points, just an open world for kids to build the city of their dreams.

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13
LEGO Duplo Train (Android, iOS: Free)

LEGO Duplo Train (Android, iOS: Free)

LEGO's Duplo Train (Android, iOS) lets your toddler build and drive their own toy train in this wonderfully animated little kids' activity app. Your child takes the role of the train engineer, choosing what carts to bring along, as well as playing simple minigames as the train makes its journey. The app sports beautiful animations and numerous little details like plants and animals in the landscape that you can tap to create sounds and actions.

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13
Dr. Seuss Treasury (iOS: Free 7-day trial)

Dr. Seuss Treasury (iOS: Free 7-day trial)

The works of Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, are classics of children's literature, featuring fantastical illustrations of imaginative characters and easy to follow language. The Dr. Seuss Treasury brings together more than 50 of Oceanhouse Media's digital adaptations of Dr. Seuss's works. In addition to the original text and illustrations, the app features digital extras, such as the ability to record your own voice narration and vocabulary learning tools. Users can access the entire library free for seven days, after which they're limited to a free book of the month, unless they sign up for a subscriptions starting at $14.99 per quarter, or permanently unlock the entire collection for $99.99.

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13
Peekaboo Barn (Android, iOS: $1.99)

Peekaboo Barn (Android, iOS: $1.99)

Animated animals play peekaboo with your toddler in Night & Day Studios' Peekaboo Barn (Android, iOS), a simple children's app that has friendly farm animals hidden behind the barn doors. Numerous animal animations can keep younger kids amused. Animal names and sounds add a learning dimension. The app can display animal names in a variety of languages, such as English, Spanish, French or Mandarin, and parents can even record their own voice speaking the name of each animal.

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13
Toca Life: Farm (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Toca Life: Farm (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Developer Toca Boca have made a name for itself with imaginative, child-friendly games, apps, and software toys designed to be ad-free and devoid of in-app purchases. Toca Life: Farm (Android, iOS) is a freeform animated playset that allows kids and parents to explore life in a farm filled with cartoon people and pets. The app is designed with free play in mind, with kids exploring the farm to discover places and things to do. Each location includes numerous interactive objects such as cows to milk, crops to harvest, and products that you can turn into food. A neat feature is the ability to create your own stories, with the app recording your character's movements on screen as well as your voice.

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13
Toca Nature (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Toca Nature (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Another Toca Boca offering, Toca Nature (Android, iOS) allows little ones to shape and interact a virtual world. From a bird's-eye view, kids can plant trees and forests, raise up mountains and create pools and rivers. Then, kids can zoom in and explore the virtual worlds they've created, climbing mountains, exploring forests and making sure that the animals that inhabit the world don't go hungry. As with Toca Boca's other apps for kids, there are no high scores and no in-app purchases. One purchase gives you and your child an entire virtual world to play in and explore.

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13
Toca Cars (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Toca Cars (Android, iOS: $2.99)

Let's complete the Toca Boca hat trick with Toca Cars (Android, iOS), which transports children into a colorful, cardboard-cutout world that they can drive around and explore on and off the road. The app lets kids zoom around in a giant sandbox environment of cardboard houses, trees and vehicles. Jump off ramps, zip through puddles of molten ice cream, knock down everything and then put it all back up again with Crash'n'Restore. Best of all, a user-friendly Editor mode lets you set up tracks, ramps, buildings and other objects, letting you and your child flex some creative muscles. As with other Toca Boca apps, this one is ad- and in-app purchase-free.

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Comments (7)
John Corpuz
John Corpuz
Social Links Navigation
John Corpuz flip-flopped between computer science and creative writing courses in school. As a contributor to Tom's Guide he's found a happy middle ground writing about apps, mobile gaming and other geekery.
Topics
Android
Android Apps
Apple
Apps
iPhone
Tablets
7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Onus
    The best "applications" for toddlers are Lincoln logs, tinkertoys, and a big box of Lego or Duplo blocks; maybe a swing set and a cardboard fort. Also a tricycle.
    Reply
  • mnd_bg
    "(...) stay calm while their parents are trying to eat at a restaurant."

    Families go the restaurant (or eat together in general) to bond and have a good time. If you are handing your children a tablet then you are defeating the whole purpose of this activity.

    Besides. Children under the age of 3 should not come in contact with TVs, mobile phones, laptops or tablets.
    Reply
  • st_ranger
    "(...) stay calm while their parents are trying to eat at a restaurant."

    Families go the restaurant (or eat together in general) to bond and have a good time. If you are handing your children a tablet then you are defeating the whole purpose of this activity.

    Besides. Children under the age of 3 should not come in contact with TVs, mobile phones, laptops or tablets.

    Says who?
    Just because you didn't have it in your childhood, it doesn't mean it's bad! Of course, it must be done in moderation.

    To give kids access to or not, - this subject has been discussed to death. There were many studies. The main conclusion has been for all of them that if it is done in a controlled way, in moderation, with the right content (software, videos, etc), then it can be a great learning instrument. But a nuclear missile in Neanderthal's hands is no more than just a baseball bat.

    And there are many reasons where giving kids something to do - can help (airport delays, waiting for doctors' appointments, etc...).

    Reply
  • st_ranger
    I've been disappointed with the several recent series of "Best " lists ran by Tomshardware/Tomsguide.

    It used to be that Tomshardware family of sites would do a thorough research that while reflecting some editorial opinion was well done and reliable. Now, it looks like these reviews are done by a high-school kid who doesn't have the skills to do a research. Instead, he/she rephrases a few words from the description of the items reviewed.

    In the current series (Best Toddler Apps), - many of the suggested apps are mediocre, and are far from the best. While that might be subjective by itself, one can clearly see that 1) app permissions (on Android) are totally ignored by the reviewer, and some of them are a clear abuse (e.g. Read phone identity and status --- not really needed by this type of games). For other apps, - one can see that the user rating is well below 4 (of 5), and the complaints about the quality are reasonable (while other similar apps have much higher ratings).

    I hope that Tomsguide can up its level of the content instead of degrading into a run-of-the-mill "I-can-write-that's-why-I-am-blubbing" type of "review" sites.

    Reply
  • Matthew Busse
    "(...) stay calm while their parents are trying to eat at a restaurant."

    Families go the restaurant (or eat together in general) to bond and have a good time. If you are handing your children a tablet then you are defeating the whole purpose of this activity.

    Besides. Children under the age of 3 should not come in contact with TVs, mobile phones, laptops or tablets.
    Toddlers are not reasonable, they very fidgety after half an hour at a graduation or a family event. Why not let them learn and stay occupied? Nobody said they were watching family guy.
    Reply
  • Vlad Rose
    Best apps for a toddler? How about an app so they don't try and chew on the phone? ;)

    And boy those devices better be sturdy so they don't break when thrown.

    I know, I'm joking btw, electronic devices should never be handled by small children without adult supervision. :P
    Reply
  • iksnyrk
    My toddler loves 100 Things App series. Especially the one for diggers...I can't peel him away sometimes!
    Reply

Tom's Guide is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab).

  • Terms and conditions (opens in new tab)
  • Privacy policy (opens in new tab)
  • Cookies policy (opens in new tab)
  • Accessibility Statement (opens in new tab)
  • Advertise with us (opens in new tab)
  • About us (opens in new tab)
  • Archives (opens in new tab)
  • Careers (opens in new tab)

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.