Children Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

iPad apps for young coders

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 7th, 2013)

Teaching your children to code should be high on the priority list for parents. To make this task easier, there are a growing number of tools that use visual elements to teach basic programming concepts to kids. AllThingsD recently reviewed two of these apps for the iPad, Kodable from SurfScore ...

Kids' iPad magazine Timbuktu rethinks in-app purchasing model

by Mike Schramm (Apr 22nd, 2013)

Timbuktu is an iPad magazine meant for children, and as our friends over at TechCrunch have noted, its developers recently rethought how it implements in-app purchases. The previous incarnation of Timbuktu (and most famously, Smurf Village, among others), made in-app purchases too tempting and ...

Securing your iOS device for your children, Part 3: removing apps, limiting social features and other safety options

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 29th, 2013)

There has been a string of high-profile cases where children have racked up thousands of dollars in credit card charges through in-app purchases. In these cases and others like them, the iOS devices used by the children have not been properly locked down by the parents. In the first post of ...

Dear parents, it's not Apple's In-App Purchase problem, it's yours

by Michael Grothaus (Mar 27th, 2013)

Dear parents, Week after week we see articles about someone's child racking up thousands of dollars' worth of In-App purchases on their parents' iTunes account. You know the stories. They're ones like this: Five-year-old spends $2,500 on in-app purchases. And this: Apple's in-app game ...

UK cop turns in his son after Apple refuses to refund App Store spending spree

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 25th, 2013)

UK father and police officer Doug Crossan took an extreme measure when he discovered his 13-year-old-son had racked up £3,700 (USD$5600) via in-app purchases on the iOS App Store. After Apple refused to rescind the charges, Crossan decided his next best move was to report his son to the ...

Daily iPhone App: 7 Little Words for Kids is a well-made word game for youngsters

by Mike Schramm (Mar 11th, 2013)

I'm a big fan of 7 Little Words, a word game that's different from the rest, in that you need to simply figure out vocabulary clues and match up syllables rather than playing Scrabble yet again or lining up letters. Now, the app's creator has returned with a version for children called ...

App maker Toca Boca acquires Zinc Roe

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 6th, 2013)

Swedish children's toy and game developer Toca Boca announced today that it is acquiring Zinc Roe, a Toronto-based design studio that creates websites, apps and games for children. The acquisition targeted Zinc Roe's talented development team and its popular Tickle Tap series. The financial ...

FTC says Apple isn't responsible for child privacy in apps

by Randy Nelson (Dec 19th, 2012)

App makers and not Apple itself must ensure that their software gets parental permission before sharing private information of minors, the Federal Trade Commission has decided. The final wording of the FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act says that Apple won't have to actively police ...

Daily iPad App: Beastly ABCs is a delightful way to teach your child their alphabet

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 18th, 2012)

Young children may still sing the traditional alphabet song, but many now learn their ABCs using alternative methods. One of the more creative ways for kids to learn their ABCs is the new narrative learning app My Beastly ABCs from Duncan Studio. My Beastly ABCs is an interactive and ...

FTC looking into privacy issues relating to childrens apps

by Mike Wehner (Dec 11th, 2012)

With more and more kids using smartphones these days, the issue of digital privacy for the younger generation is reaching a fever pitch. As The Associated Press reports, the Federal Trade Commission recently investigated approximately 400 smartphone apps aimed at children to see just what kinds of ...

iBuku Pets lets you recycle your old iPhone by giving it to your kids

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 5th, 2012)

Rather than toss their old iPhone or iPod touch into the trash, an increasing number of parents are giving their worn down devices to their children as toys. I have to agree that an iPod touch with the right apps can be an enjoyable play thing for your little one, but that device is not made ...

Toca Tea Party offers iPad toddler play

by Erica Sadun (Oct 16th, 2012)

Toca Tea Party (US$1.99) offers an interactive party suitable for the very youngest iPad users. With bright colors and highly defined interaction opportunities, it works best for limited play, where users can "pour" tea, "eat" cake and listen to jazzy music. This is not an app that will engage ...

Brøderbund's Living Books return for iPad via Wanderful

by Michael Rose (Oct 8th, 2012)

Some of you may not remember the early 1990s. Heck, some of you probably weren't born yet in the early 1990s. But for Mac users of a certain vintage, it was an exciting time. The growing popularity of CD-ROM drives paired with Mac II-series machines (did the IIci really cost over $6,200 at ...

What happens in a toddler's brain when they use an iPad

by Mike Schramm (May 23rd, 2012)

Those of us who have used traditional computers for a while think the iPad is pretty magical. t's super fast, super portable, and the direct interactivity is a very different experience from what we're used to with a mouse and keyboard. But those comparisons aren't as valid for children who are ...

Daily iPad App: The Little Girl Who Could Fly is a delightful interactive book for children

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 19th, 2012)

Today we are stepping outside our typical app reviews for the iPad and looking at an interactive book. Because of their interactive elements, these titles stray over into the app category. This particular title, The Little Girl Who Could Fly from YellowPixie, is an animated, illustrated ...