Mobile Apps for Real-World Connection with Kids

Technology doesn't have to be isolating and all engrossing. Out and about I (Brandon) use different mobile apps to spend time with my kids like pass-and-play games or side-by-side learning programs. Last week Adam wrote about introspecting his motivations to hand a mobile device to children to keep them engaged. And this got me thinking about some of the apps that I use on my phone and tablet to engage my kids in an activity together.

I imagine having my phone in my pocket in 2024 is equivalent to someone keeping a notebook and a deck of cards in their pocket in the 1800s. However, while a set of cards makes me think of sharing a game with friends, a phone makes me think of isolation. But, it doesn't have to be that way!

There is a very tiny niche of apps that are great for using my phone while also creating an experience that I can share with my kids (or even another adult!) just like a deck of cards.

In this post I will introduce the four types of phone and tablet apps that I use to spend time with my kids while out and about.

Pass and Play Games

Pass and Play games are a type of game that you play on a device by taking turns and passing a device back and forth. This is a fairly niche market for mobile games so finding them can be tricky. But, I have two recommendations that my kids (3yo/6yo) enjoy.

OLO game on the Apple App Store is a digitized version of shuffleboard (or maybe Tiddlywinks?). Each player takes a side of the board and tries to get their tokens onto the other person's side of the board. Push the token too hard- and that token becomes your opponents! 

2 player games: the challenge (iOS full unlock $10) is a collection of simple board games in the vein of tic-tac-toe, hungry hungry hippos, memory, and math challenges. It has enough variety to be entertaining but simple enough mechanics that you will want to disengage with the games after a few iterations. 

Ascension (iOS, Android) is a great translation of the popular deck building card game. My wife and I have played it but the ruleset is a bit too complicated for my kids right now. I would love to try other digitized board games in the future though and I found a list of board game apps that can be sorted by "Pass-and-Play". Let me know in the comments if you find something good!

Side by Side Reading

A world of books exists in a mobile phone. As a kid who marveled at the titular "wikipedia in your pocket technology" of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in Douglas Adam's famous sci-fi comedy series. And today it still feels like the future whenever I read books on my phone.

With the Libby app I can easily access tons of books that my kids might like, for free, with just a few taps. I won't lie and say that Libby is a masterpiece of user experience. But, these two screenshots can help to explain how I use Libby's filtering functionality to find new books to read while out and about.

Go to the Search pane and click the three horizontal line button to expand the filters

Select books, available now and juvenile as filters. Optionally sort by release date to find new books

Manga can also be a great option too. And by far my favorite to read with the kids is Chi's Sweet Home (read a sample) which is available from our library via Libby. It is a story about a cat and his family at home- cute, breezy, funny.

If your kids are learning phonics I highly recommend the side-by-side curriculum app called Reading.com (affiliate link). I want to make it very clear this app has to be done side-by-side with your kid and there is a bit of homework to be done alone by the parent to learn how to teach new concepts. This isn't an app you hand to your kid to do on their own. Both my kids learned phonics side by side with me using this app and I can't recommend it enough. 

Sound Toys

Phones are amazing music making devices. And my kids love making noise (and sometimes music). And currently their favorite music making app to play with on my phone is the Koala Sampler (iOS, Android). With this app I help the kids record funny sounds and then organize those sounds into funny little beats. The Koala Sampler homepage has a great little demo video to get an idea of how it works. 

Interactive Fiction

As a child I remember the "Choose Your Old Adventure" books that let you choose the direction of the narrative every few paragraphs. And Interactive Fiction Games (or IF Games) are a digitized version of the same concept. These games were very popular at the beginning of personal computing in the 1970s and 1980s and are still alive and well in the era of mobile apps.

My kid has connected best with a game called Sorcery! by Inkle Studios (iOS, Android). There are some scary parts, melee combat, and some adult themes in this game once and awhile but we navigate it together.

I don't know of a ton of games in this genre but the next one I will try with my kids is "Ord." (iOS, Android) which is rated as 4+. 

Let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations!

End of Session

I hope this post has inspired you to try and look at your phone as a tool that can be used, with some creativity, to engage with the kids in your life. Phones and tablets are not the best tool in every situation but they are very handy (har har!) in situations where you might have to keep a kid engaged productively into something and have nothing else available.

If you liked this post consider reading my previous post: Effective YouTube Kids Quality Content in Small Doses which explains how to set up YouTube kids to only show content you approve of.

With APP-reciation,

Brandon