Off on holiday with the kids? Then you already know what to expect. Arguments between siblings. Hundreds of questions. Many, many stops for the bathroom.
It’s safe to say you’ll want to keep them busy during those long car journeys and flights. And that’s exactly what these handy tablet and mobile apps are for. Load some onto their device and the shouts from the backseat of “are we there yet!?” will be a thing of the past.
So, here’s a good mix of free and paid for apps to make travelling with the little ones a bit easier…
Minecraft – Pocket Edition
If you haven’t heard of Minecraft, where have you been? It’s now one of the most popular games on the planet. Minecraft is all about building. Whether that’s a basic house, a fantasy castle, or a towering skyscraper. Its only limitation is your child’s imagination. And with mining, crafting, exploration, and battles thrown into the mix, there’s plenty here for them to get stuck into.
Cost: £4.99
Platform: Android / iOS
BBC iPlayer
iPlayer is chock full of great shows for the kids. With CBBC and CBeebies, there’s a huge backlog of episodes you can download before your trip. You can then watch these in offline mode without an internet connection. You’ll just have to make sure you remember to do that though. Otherwise, you might be waiting a while until you find a decent internet connection…
Cost: Free
Platform: Android / iOS
Move the Turtle
Move the Turtle has one main objective. To move the turtle. It teaches children how to code, using fun games to improve their skills – and get that reptile moving (slowly). Coding is all the rage right now too. So, they’ll be learning something useful while having a great time. The friendly turtle runs through coding step by step in a really straightforward way, with lots of colourful graphics to keep them engaged. It’s definitely the most educational option on this list but is still heaps of fun.
Cost: £3.99
Platform: iOS
Storytime from CBeebies
This is one for the readers. Storytime has tons of interactive story books to choose from written by the best children’s authors. All your child’s favourite characters are here too. From Biff and Chip to Supertato (the world’s first potato superhero, apparently). And with ‘read by myself’ and ‘read to me’ options they’ll still be able to enjoy every book – no matter their reading ability.
Once you’ve downloaded some to your library, they can all be read offline – no Wi-Fi required. So, make sure you stock up before you head off on your journey. You can store up to 12 stories in total. Which should be more than enough to cover your whole holiday.
Cost: Free
Platform: Android / iOS
The Robot Factory
Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to build their own robot? And that’s exactly what you do in The Robot Factory. Robot dogs. Robot ninjas. Robot scientists. Robot dragons. There are literally 1000s of possibilities. If you can think it, you can make it. Using the construction kit, you can choose from 100 different components to craft your dream mech. But once it’s been built, you’ll have to test it to see if it works.
You can then add those important robotic finishing touches. Give it a slick paint job. Or record and add in your own unique robot sounds. And once your kid is happy with their robot, they can display it in the showroom.
Cost: £3.99
Platform: iOS
Got a great app for kids that we’ve missed? Let us know about it in the comments down below