3 Apps That You Can Have On Your Mobile Phone, Tablet or iPad to Engage Your Kids Productively During the Corona Virus Lockdown

The lockdown has left us struggling with kids watching too much TV or mobile phone. We understand that it is hard to keep them engaged for long hours and the phone or TV allows parents some relief between managing work and children. 

Even before the lockdowns which are a result of the COVID19 pandemic, keeping kids entertained without them watching the TV, mobile phone, or some form of the screen was difficult. The current coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the situation. 

In pre COVID19 times there were some simple rules which one could have followed and tricks which one could have implemented to keep children off the TV or mobile phone, but now the struggle has reached a new level! 

A full day of office work, additional household chores, home schooling, then entertaining the kids, and on top of that constantly worrying that you are not doing enough for your kids has become the ‘new normal’ way of life in the lockdown in the post-pandemic world.

The coronavirus lockdowns have restricted many things but have increased the TV and mobile phone time for all children across the world. 

Parents are fretting over this and worrying about the damage that excess screen watching may be causing to their children. 

However, when you have to log on an important call or get past an important report or presentation then it is the phone which allows you the undisturbed much needed 45 minutes. The phone often comes to parents’ rescue when one needs an undisturbed chunk of time. 

After having faced these struggles, I was struck by an idea which has not solved the problem completely but is definitely a silver lining in this grey situation! 

Have you thought of some clever apps that you can use on your phone which the kids might take to and spend some time learning something on the phone rather than just does mindless watching? Of all the various apps that are there on the Playstore and Appstore, there are a bunch of educative apps which will not only keep your child engaged but also impart some knowledge or learning as they watch the mobile phone! 

I discovered these apps which I would highly recommend to all parents with children in the age group 4 years and above. 

Yes, these apps can be used by children who are 4 years old and above! However, it’s always advisable to keep an eye out on what the child is doing on the phone.

So here is my list of three apps which I think are great for children: 

Chess Kid: A great app for children to learn Chess. It is free and will teach the kids the basics of the game. The kids will easily spend 15 – 20 minutes at one time and you can encourage them to play this twice a day allowing 30 – 40 minutes of productive screen time. 

Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chesskid&hl=en

iOs App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/chess-for-kids-play-learn/id629375826

Audible:

An excellent app for anyone, from children to grownups, to listen to audiobooks. It’s free for a month with your Amazon account and there are a lot of books available there from all genres. Definitely worth a try for a month and then you can decide whether you want to take the paid subscription or not. 

Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.audible.application&hl=en

iOS App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/audible-audiobooks-originals/id379693831 

Duo Lingo - A free app for learning a new language. All the modules are interactive and the kids enjoy it as there are visual as well as audible interactive lessons. In fact, this is a great app for parents and children to spend time together and learn a new language! 

Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duolingo&hl=en 

iOS App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/duolingo-language-lessons/id570060128 

I will add more to the list if I discover some other good educative or learning apps which your children can spend time on while they are on the phone watching screen, but in this case, they’ll also learn something as they watch!