Tech :: Tips For Picking Children’s Apps this Holiday Season

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Tips For Picking Children’s Apps this Holiday Season

 

Apps can be a great holiday gift idea for children of all ages! They’re inexpensive, take up no space and don’t require a trip to a crowded mall. However, with more than one million apps to choose from, it can be challenging to find the right one.

 

For gift-givers who are considering mobile apps this holiday season, Moms With Apps can help you make sure you’re choosing fun, secure, high-quality apps that little ones will love!  Moms With Apps is such a great resource for busy parents and take a lot of the work out of searching for quality apps.  I like how their website allows you to easily search what types of apps you are looking for – maybe you are interested in a science app for children ages 4 to 8 years old.  They make this really easy to search for and you can even find out more about the development team behind the app!  I like this personalization and it is fun to read about moms and dads like us who came up with the ideas because they saw a need in the market.

 

Choose an App that will Top their Gift List

It’s important to know what you and your child want from an app before downloading. When it comes to educational content, what exactly do you want your kids to learn? Letters? Math? Problem-solving skills? Secondly, what interests your child? Is it all about trucks these days? Or maybe they can’t get enough of farm animals. With Moms With Apps, parents can search for trustworthy apps in a variety of different subject areas, including science, math, reading and critical thinking.

Plus there are a ton of really great storybook apps out in the market and they have a long list of good ones to choose from!

 

Give the Gift of a Social Experience

Apps can teach kids how to be social. In fact, in a recent survey of more than 450 parents, 96% of parents believe that apps are beneficial to their child’s development. Look for an app that’s age-appropriate and engaging for the recipient. With a carefully selected app, children can interact with people online in a safe and fun way.

 

Pick with Privacy in Mind

App privacy is a huge concern for parents. A Federal Trade Commission report released earlier this year says close to 60 percent of apps designed for children collect and share personal information — and only 11 percent tell you they are actually doing it!

The great news is that there are many apps that are created with your children’s privacy in mind; you just need to know where to look. Moms With Apps only features developers who are committed to high standards for protecting kids’ privacy and disclose their policies in a clear and concise way.

 

Avoid the Gift that Keeps on Giving

How many of us have discovered that our children have made purchases within an app without our knowledge? Some free apps hook children with extra purchases to get extra features or to get to other levels in the game.  This happened to us a few years back.  My daughter was playing a coin game and ended up “buying” more coins that totaled over $1,000!  Luckily, we were able to get this cleared off our record but usually it is pretty tough once the in-app purchase has been bought.  I like that Moms With Apps resource lets you know which apps has in-app purchases.

 

Make sure you avoid this unpleasant surprise by reading all about the app and understanding whether “upgrades” are necessary to access certain aspects of the game.

 

Choose an App that Works in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

So what does this app need to work? Internet access? Battery power?  Nimble thumbs? Think about whether “airplane mode” is important to you–do you need this app to function when you’re on the road or in the air and without Wi-Fi? Moms With Apps allows parents to search for apps that function in without an Internet connection, among other requirements.

 

 

 

Still unsure of which apps to choose? Come join us to talk more about apps join us today 12/3 for the #MomsWithApps Twitter Party!

What: With more than one million apps to choose from, it can be hard to find the trustworthy apps that you know upfront your kids will learn from and enjoy. That’s where Moms With Apps comes in! Moms with Apps gives parents the power to choose the best apps for their kids. Their site features more than 285 developers and 885 apps that maintain high standards for protecting kids’ privacy, and allows you to filter by criteria like whether the app has advertising or works without an internet connection. It’s now easy to know what’s inside every app before you hit download!

Moms With Apps conducted a survey of more than 450 parents to get their thoughts on selecting apps with kids. We’ll be sharing their findings with you during this party! 

When: Wednesday, December 3 at 12 p.m. ET

Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #MomsWithApps hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Vite: https://vite.io/themotherhood 

Hashtag: #MomsWithApps

Prizes: We will be giving away five prizes during this Twitter party to randomly selected participants who answer the trivia questions correctly. Each prize includes a $50 Visa Gift card. Prizes limited to U.S. participants only.

Hosts: @TheMotherhood, @TheMotherhood25, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann

Co-hosts: @techsavvymama, @jessicamcfadd, @WellConnectdMom, @techmama, @melissanorthway, @littletechgirl, @daddymojo, @MamaDweeb

 

“This post is brought to you by The Motherhood and Moms With Apps. All opinions are my own.” 

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