So, we went down to Sydney the other day. And I have to say, travelling with the 2.5 year old is pretty easy. When you have the iCrack.
Yes, my son has his own “phone”. Albeit an old iPhone of mine that is now about 4 years old. And I wouldn’t travel without it. He has child-friendly volume-limited headphones, and knows how to work it.
I’ve worked out how to download stuff from our PVR (yes, I love you icetv recorder) onto the phone, so it comes with a ready supply of 2 year old tv addiction: current favourites include a number of Peppa Pig episodes (now the tune is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day, AGAIN. After only just writing the title.. Aargh), the old and faithful Play School, a Thomas or two, and a Charlie and Lola. Then there is YouTube, which he watches on a wireless connection, but only things we’ve “favourited”… But I have to keep an eye on that usage, as one or two inadvertent button presses and hey presto some highly inappropriate content beams straight down to him (and I’m sure we’ll get to that at some stage in life, but 2.5 is just too young).
In addition to that, there are some games to play with. Which I have spent all of 1 hour searching for and wanted to have some kind of educational component..
The current top hits at our house for games (which I happily pay for as it is the best bribery ever to have 10 minutes of game on the phone) are:
I don’t currently have any games that require you to “download” or “purchase” bits and bobs, but have set-up permissions just in case he inadvertently pokes a button to buy “gems” or some other virtual crap (see this handy guide on how to set permissions if you haven’t done so already).
Do you have any apps for your iPhone/iPad/Android perfect for toddlers that you’d like to share / recommend?
aha, i like the iCrack- totally addictive to small children… we have an iPad and it’s the same. I minimise their time, though figure this kinda technology is their future, so they need to know how to use it. We love Create-a-car- small price- you build your own car, choosing each piece, the save it and make it ‘go’.
We have nothing, Though Evan has been asking for a phone. Not at six. We have a portable DVD player that I wouldn’t travel with for the world. We did a two hour trip without it. Half way through I was kicking myself. The iPhone idea is pretty awesome though.