How can we use apps to boost our children's abilities?

One of the most debated topics today is the use of tablets or mobiles at early ages. Many parents are worried because their children only want to use new technologies and it seems they get bored entertaining themselves with more traditional games.

We must not forget that we are at a time when both adults and children are immersed in a world surrounded by technology, and yes, knowing how to use it is just as important as keeping its use under control.

But how can we take advantage of new technologies to educate our children? Which apps are the most suitable?

Today we would like to share our opinion, presenting some educational apps that, beyond play, also teach and stimulate the abilities of the youngest ones.

Apps for children aged 1 to 5

When they turn one year old, they are already prepared to interact with apps that, among other benefits, contribute to cognitive development through the symbolic and the numerical, which will help them develop speech and, later on, reading and writing.

• Juego para Niños (developed by The Barn Of Kinder Kids). It is an ideal game for the most curious ones; it contains 110 different words and sounds to learn. When you click on an animal, a vehicle or another object, its sound is played. In addition, a voice says the name of the displayed element. The same happens with household objects, clothes, fruits or vehicles, among others.
• Encuéntralo (Find It). A game where objects and animals blend into the scene. You must find certain images in an attractive and fun environment, full of images of everyday life, professions, animals, types of food... They will improve in shape and color recognition, their attention, vocabulary and visual abilities.
• Emparéjalo (Match It Up), is a game that helps develop visual perception and cognitive skills. Children must find the match for the figure shown. It has different difficulty levels, according to ages.
• Baby TV. An app full of popular TV series for babies and children. The series have been created by education experts, and focus on early learning concepts such as numbers, colors, shapes, problem solving, among others. Many feature children's favorite characters, and music predominates in all of them.
• Writing Wizard. The first steps in writing must be very guided, and Writing Wizard aims to be a support for little ones up to 5 years old. It helps them learn how to write the letters, through a system designed to keep them motivated. In addition, the app is fully customizable so it can adjust to the needs of each child.
• Respira, piensa, actúa. In this app, the Sesame Street characters explain a series of challenges so that the little ones learn some basic concepts about concentration, calm and many other emotions. A series of guided exercises that will help them feel differently, and to find their feelings.

Apps for children over 5 years old:

• HangArt. We could define HangArt as an evolution of the most classic hangman, an app that, besides letting us play with predefined content, also allows us to create our own drawings or add our own sounds for others to solve.
• 5it. An app where players must try to be the fastest at guessing five words, from five different categories, that start with a particular letter. A game with which children practice and acquire new vocabulary.
• Monster numbers, is an educational app that invites children to play with mathematics. With fun designs, friendly characters, logic games, and math operations that adapt to the different age groups.
• Palabra Correcta, is a timed question-and-answer app, but in this case about spelling. Doing this type of exercise on the tablet is ideal because when you answer wrong, the app tells you the correct answer. This is very useful for memorizing how words are spelled.
• Quiver, an app that crosses the barrier between the virtual and real worlds. It combines an activity as important for development as drawing with "real" pencil and paper with technology. A different way to stimulate our children's creativity.
• Monument Valley, a classic that tests the player's visual-spatial ability through its different levels, in which we can rotate the scene to discover new paths to advance along. Drawings and illustrations, together with a relaxing soundtrack, make this game an entertaining app that is at the same time stimulating to the senses.