Top free iPhone apps for kids

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Make your car journeys quieter with the best iPhone apps for kids – spanning games that are fun, creative and even educational!

Toddlers

Fun: Matches
What it entails: Just like the card game, you match up pairs of animals.
Why it’s good: With a board of 12 cards the game can be simple and as the number of cards increases, as does the difficulty level. Kids love the animal sounds that are made when each pair is completed.

Creative: Glow Draw
What it entails: Reminiscent of Lite Brite, kids get to change colour, scribble and draw on a black background, then shake to start over.
Why it’s good: It’s easy to use, making it perfect for beginner doodlers and those practising letters. Young kids are attracted to the neon colours.

Educational: First Word Sampler
What it entails: This early learning tool is a simplified version of hangman, with a picture above sounding letter cards that children drag into place with their fingertips.
Why it’s good: The game’s cartoon images are fun and it offers visual and audio cues to aid learning.

For moms in a rush, award-winning duck duck moose has more great games for toddlers. 

Young Kids

Fun: Angry Birds Lite
What it entails: You pull back a slingshot and launch birds at different structures.
Why it’s good: The happy chirping and addictively fun nature of this game has made fans of children and adults alike – it’s one of the most popular apps there is! Different levels involve birds that cause destruction in different ways (some multiply, some explode), which keeps you competitive.

Creative: My Sketch
What it entails: Similar to the version of our youths, kids can sketch a masterpiece using just their fingertips.
Why it’s good: It’s actually easier to use than the original, and you can even use one of your saved photos as a starting-off point. All it takes is a shake to get a clean slate and start again.

Educational: ArithmeTick
What it entails: Blackboard-style quick-fire timed Q&A rounds.
Why it’s good: It’s a fast-paced game and can be tailored to include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, depending on what a child needs to practice or most enjoys.

Older Kids

Fun: iBasket
What it entails: Shooting hoops in an abandoned gymnasium.
Why it’s good: With an arrow to indicate aim and a very satisfying sound accompanying each dunk, this game is hugely addictive. Since it can be played for 30 seconds or 30 minutes, it’s also pretty versatile.

Creative: Touch Pets Cats
What it entails: In a colourful virtual world, kids are invited to adopt and name a cat, before being challenged to be the most caring owner, ever.
Why it’s good: From playing with the cat, to giving it fresh litter, there is a range of activities in this game, which teach responsibility. Cats make realistic-sounding purrs when stroked, and naming and dressing the pet also engages the imagination and creativity. (Tamagotchi, eat your heart out!)

Educational: Miss Spell's Class
What it entails: Featuring basic but fun graphics, Miss Spells’ Class is laid out like a page in an exercise book. Words are listed and the player rates the spelling as correct or incorrect and receives, a star or sad face for each one, followed by a final grade.
Why it’s good: A quick and fun learning aid, the “review” function at the end reveals where any mistakes were made and it’s a good way to introduce younger kids to longer words.

All these games are free through your iPhone App Store.