Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone
Do your kids play with your iPhone?
Once my kids were beyond putting random technology into their mouths, I have let them play with gadgets. But what about my iPhone? It started innocently enough: a Leapster for a birthday. Then I cleaned out the garage and let them "borrow" a few antique Palm devices. Then I got them hooked on an old iBook G3 running OS 9 and some great old classics (the original "Toy Story" interactive storybook is a nearly-perfect example of the genre). A Palm T|X loaded with games, music, photos and movies might have been a step in the wrong direction, as was the Dell Axim with the same. Access to those was limited until the iPhone came along.Once a kid has used iSaber (currently unavailable from the iTunes store) or played DizzyBee, it's over. When you show them you can add yet more fun diversions the question becomes "got anything new on your iPhone?" By then it's over.
Now the question becomes, what's the harm? Is there harm? I've limited their use to the inevitable "we're waiting right now" moments. But still, no matter what we've done that day that was new and exciting, if my son plays with the iPhone for 5 minutes that's all Mom hears about when he's going to bed.
I grew up with an Apple ][ in the house and I'm sure that had a hand in my love of tech. But there's also a case for letting kids find their own way, at an age-appropriate level. I cringe when they swing my naked iPhone around using iSaber, expecting Wii-style damage to our windows and the device itself. Yet I can't help but think that getting used to technology early -- something that will increasingly invade their lives as it becomes more embedded in our world -- is maybe a good thing. Everything in moderation, of course. I certainly don't want them erasing my high scores; I'll let iTunes do that.
Son's favorite games: Cannon Game and MotionX Dice. (iTunes links)
Daughter's favorite games: DizzyBeeFree (guess I better buy it!) and aSleep (iTunes links)
We've covered MotionX and aSleep before.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
SleeplessKn1ght said 5:07PM on 9-04-2008
My just-turned-three-year-old loves looking at pictures, playing MotionX Dice, CubeRunner, Jared and BubbleWrap. The only rules she can't "touch the green button" (phone app) and I have to be lying with her so I can stop her from calling someone on accident through another part of the phone OS.
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Alex said 5:09PM on 9-04-2008
My daughter is 4 years old and she loves playing on my iPhone. Not only for games but for videos. But with regard to Apps, she likes:
• Bubbles
• Balloons
• Face Melter (good for mom/dad but also a sleeper hit for 4 year olds who can turn their cousin into a monster from the depths of Hell)
• And surprisingly enough: MonkeyBall. I myself have trouble controlling that little crazy monkey but she does alright. Actually I was so impressed, I put it on video.
It does get a little sticky when I need to take the phone to leave and go to work and 'sticky' from candy fingers too :)
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sam said 5:15PM on 9-04-2008
Is this still the best apple blog around?
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mex said 3:20AM on 9-05-2008
If you don't like it anymore simple pass it... wipe it out from your bookmarks, and please, avoid this unuseful comments
JTynefield said 5:17PM on 9-04-2008
The obvious downsides ( as my wife has found out repeatedly ) are:
* never knowing what your ringer is going to sound like
* wondering why edge/wifi is disabled
* a freshly randomized desktop spread across all 9 panels
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Slee said 5:17PM on 9-04-2008
My daughter (20 months) is spoiled by the touch screen. She thinks every screen should react to her touch. Mostly i let her look at pictures at times like waiting on our food in a restaurant or waiting in lines. She also likes JirboMatch and of course watching Winnie the Pooh videos on long plane rides.
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iBearTouch said 5:21PM on 9-04-2008
Me and my kids sometimes play Jirbo Match on my Touch... good kids' game... but otherwise, that password is on there for a reason.
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sonicwind said 5:25PM on 9-04-2008
Play with an iPhone? An iPhone is a tool, not a toy. Grow up.
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Kyle Derouen said 5:57PM on 9-04-2008
Mine is just as much a toy as it is a tool... I play video games and stuff on my iPhone all the time.
Of course, I'm a college kid, so maybe I'm just not 'grown up' enough yet to know the difference :P
d said 7:26PM on 9-04-2008
no, the iPhone is a device. Some may consider the iPhone a tool, some a toy, but it is a device. I use my iPhone as a tool during my daily life as a student to keep track of assignments and professor contact info. I use it as a toy when I'm waiting in line and fire PapiJump, Sol Free Solitaire, or Sudoku to help time pass. Before the purchase of my iPhone 3G I had to convince my parents to add the data. I already had a cell phone and had bought myself an iPod touch for anything the cell wouldn't offer me. My best argument for the iPhone was simply that it was a new toy. If it's a tool, explain how More Cowbell or PhoneSaber help you do the things you need to do? Honestly, to each his own. Don't get so worked up about the iPhoning of others.
And on your "grow up" point, I think most people's kids still have plenty of time to grow up. Nor is it really all that necessary in the long run.
chus3r said 5:58PM on 9-04-2008
I have one approaching 7 and the other is 4. Both enjoy playing with the touchscreen, taking pictures, Jibro Match is huge for my 4 year old. The lightsaber and cowbell have lost meaning to them.
They also like Koi Pond, YouTube(monitored of course), MathQuizK, Tap Tap Revenge, Labyrinth, Dizzy Bee and Castle Fued(web app).
Great post I'm going to download some more now.
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rawhead said 5:57PM on 9-04-2008
yeah. my 5 year old get to play with my iPhone for about 30 minutes a day (doing so right now). his favorite game now is Enigmo and Dizzy Bee; he really liked iPhysics before I updated my iPhone to v2.0 and ruined the jailbrake. we're both hoping an official version will come out on the App Store.
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Tim Gardner said 5:54PM on 9-04-2008
My 2 year old son loves playing with my iPod Touch, especially looking at pictures. I was amazed that he could unlock then remember which icons to press. Unfortunately now I have an iPhone I cannot answer a call without him saying 'want this' over and over. Its a good way of keeping him entertained in cafes and restaurants though.
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JLP said 5:49PM on 9-04-2008
My 6 yr old son is great at Enigmo (he likes contraptions). My 18 mo old daughter just likes dragging and tapping on everything. Some games take too long to load so she moves on quickly. She especially likes flicking thru everyone's pictures in the built-in photo app.
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Tim said 3:23PM on 9-05-2008
My 18M old daughter love Super Monkey Ball. When ever she hits the home key by accident she hands me the phone to start the game again. She also loves to scroll through pictures and album art. I have an old apple with the application AplhaBaby on there, she will hit the keyboard keys all day long. I'm glad she is interested in technology early because it will help her in the long run, although my wallet shuders with every passing day.
Destructo said 5:52PM on 9-04-2008
On July 1, 2007 my (then) 4-year old daughter was curious about the new shiny thing that Mommy and Daddy were so excited about. So we handed her our new iPhone on a car ride across town.
Within 15 minutes she had figured out how to take pictures, flick through them and pinch in and out to resize them. That's how intuitive the iPhone's interface is.
When I put movies and TV shows on my iPhone for her, it made her even more excited, especially on car trips.
Since the launch of the app store, I have to watch my iPhone. If I set it down on the counter, I often come back only to find it gone. I usually find her huddled up playing Aurora Feint, PhoneSaber or one of the Jirbo games.
And now she's lobbying for her own iPhone.
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brian said 11:08PM on 9-04-2008
I think it's a tribute to the iPhone's usability that my 20-month-old was able to pick up my phone, press a button, turn it on, and, by moving his finger along the "slide to unlock" with the same motion as the text glow that goes across, unlock the phone, with no help at all, in just a couple minutes.
I absolutely do NOT want to raise a kid who can't wait patiently in line for 2 seconds without having an electronic game in their hand but I did go ahead and get that 99-cent kid's game that was reviewed here a few days ago ("Adventure") and he likes it AND responds to it--i.e., after playing with it a few minutes, we can say "Where's the cow?" and he presses the right thing. (And he can't even talk yet.)
He also likes PhoneSaber but he's only allowed to play it in bed or while standing over carpet. And even then I still worry. :-)
Peter said 5:55PM on 9-04-2008
Funny. My son has a PSP which he like to play, but he always asks to play my iPhone. He is 6, and as you can imagine it is a constant battle. Maybe I should should get him his own. What is an appropriate age for a cell for kids?
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SharpShooter said 11:39PM on 9-04-2008
Get him an iPod touch. Cheaper, and more appropriate :p
steven said 6:04PM on 9-04-2008
I have had to refrain from buying any car racing games as my 3 year old would not leave my phone alone. Also had to hide YouTube as he somehow always ends up finding some dodgy spider-man clips. Other than that he likes Jirbo Match, Face Melter, going through photos and CoverFlow in the iPod app.
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