Ever scoured the net for app recommendations and realized you haven’t got a clue where to begin? How can you be sure the app you download for your child is safe, appropriate and educational? If only there was a TripAdvisor style website where parents could rate apps for others to find! Here at Kids in Madrid we share some ideas about how to wade through the myriad of offers to find what you are looking for; best educational apps for your kids.
Guidelines for finding the right apps for your kids
iOS or Android
Most reputable app producers will create apps for both platforms and as Apple is famously strict about which apps it allows to be published on the App store, a good rule of thumb is to check if the app you are thinking of downloading on your Android device has an equivalent for those who use Apple devices.
Age appropriate APPS for your kids
The big names in children’s technology advocacy are all lobbying for a rubric that will standardise what is considered age appropriate when it comes to apps. Teachers with apps have created a wish list of what all educational apps should contain which gives some idea of the complexity of gauging the age of the app user.
Avoid Free apps
Unless recommended by a trusted independent source such as the Family Education website, it is a good idea to keep away from free apps which usually have in-app purchase adverts and are often poorly maintained, having been produced for a specific commercial aim. 
THE EXPERTS
For parents keen to find out what apps are worth investing time and money in, look no further than Common Sense Media for suggestions. Another excellent newsletter & subscribers-only website which is worth looking into is the excellent Children’s Technology Review whose rather old-fashioned looking no-frills website is a treasure trove of reviews to be trusted. Techradar sometimes features articles for parents, as does Care who are an authority on good quality Android apps like these free ones for toddlers.
For those of us interested in dual language learning and bilingualism for young children, Karen Nemeth has her finger on the pulse and is incredibly approachable on Twitter. Other children’s tech gurus worth following on Twitter are Molly Flatt and Jane Wakefield.
PERSONAL FAVOURITES
In 2015 I wrote Appy Christmas – The best apps for kids about apps that were popular at the time. Checking up on them for this article, I’m sad to see that Lumikids was discontinued in 2018 but that the rest of the apps mentioned therein are still running and serving their purposes. As my children are older now and are into coding, I’ve been following Engadget who recommend these apps and products to help our kids learn this core skill for the 21st century. However if they were still at infant school I’m sure we would have made a beeline for the educational app created by EduJoy for the Spanish football league La Liga which has received rave reviews since its launch in January 2019.
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