“Never work with kids or animals!" This quote, attributed to W.C. Fields, is one of those axioms you’ll soon come across when you work in the entertainment business. Then sooner or later, you’ll find yourself doing the exact opposite as I’ve been doing for a few years!
I have a (mostly) delightful little 4-year old co-star, Jaden, who plays my stepson and we’ve been working together since he was 8 months old. Sometimes though, a little bribery is called upon to get through some scenes and I recently realised that playing with my iPad was a much more appealing bribe than the usual handful of “sweeties”.
Initially we used whatever apps I had, taking crazy self-portraits as we’d wait behind the sets for our entrance. Eventually though, I spent an evening online searching out recommendations for whatever free kids’ iPad apps I could find. Out of the 15 or so apps I downloaded, it was interesting to see what held his attention (the span of which right now, is pretty short).
He tends to not spend too much time with each game. He also doesn’t necessarily use the game as intended, but here are the top 5 free iPad kids’ apps according to Jaden:
1. Sam Phibian
Sam is a frog who needs some help counting how many bugs he eats. If he eats more of a kind than he should, he runs the risk of getting too heavy for his lily-pad, and falls into the water with a great splash. He also has to try not to eat things like chili peppers, underpants, etc, all of which have a rather funny effect on Sam. Maybe one day Jaden will take more delight in getting the numbers right, but for now of course he takes great delight in making Sam eat as much as possible of all the wrong things and squeals happily when he swells up and creates a huge splash.
Get it here.
2. Photo Touch Farm Animals
This is a game Jaden likes when we can turn up the sound (which we can’t do when on set). A voice prompts him to pick a particular animal out of a number of different creatures on the screen and if done correctly, responds with praise. Even though this game helps with visual and auditory recognition, I think he likes it more for the positive reinforcement than anything else.
Download it here.
3. Fireworks Arcade
This app has a number of game variations, but the main thing which keeps Jaden’s attention, are the different fireworks which explode every time he touches the screen. He goes crazy tapping at the screen and seems to love playing with this app – though it doesn’t necessarily hold his attention for very long.
Get it here.
4. 10 Pin Shuffle HD (Bowling) Lite
This game can keep him occupied for a while - I think he loves the strikes and will keep playing and trying to achieve them. The positive reinforcement of getting a strike seems to keep his attention.
Get it here.
5. Touch Hockey Extreme
This game can either be played against the app, or between two players and is another one that Jaden enjoys playing. I think he gets a little frustrated sometimes because he doesn’t really have the control and he hates to lose, but it’s definitely one of the top five. This game keeps the attention of some serious gamers, not just your average 4-year old.
Download it here.
The best thing about these apps? They're free. Check them out and let me know what apps your kids play.
(Update: Jaden has discovered Angry Birds on my iPad and nothing else exists anymore. It’s the ONLY game he wants to play. He doesn’t seem to care about advancing through the levels, he just loves launching those birds and seeing the mayhem they create! I’ll go to his games folder, labeled with his name and he vigorously shakes his head. All he wants is Angry Birds!)
