Saturday, January 28

Man vs Child: The iPhone Wars

Everyday is a battle in my house, for you see, since she was nine months old my daughter could unlock our iPhones. As she steadily approaches three, she has figured out how to download apps from the App Store, which, to be honest, is a little concerning.

Especially after she spent $18 in less than a minute.

As a result, my wife now has less to spend on her iTunes card, Lib has something else to call her's and I have something to write about.

She only downloaded a few games and a book, but they've kept her distracted all weekend. As a parent the only thing I can do is endorse them.

The first she found was Peppa Pig Party Time. Based on the popular ABC cartoon, this game is actually seems pretty fun, with kids able to make, ice and decorate cakes with their finger as well as play hide and seek with a pet parrot. It's mind numbing for an adult, but because it closely resembles the show, the kids were right into it.

The interactive Dora the Explorer story book was another of Lib's purchases. This follows the adventures of Dora through somewhere doing stuff and things and... (trails off). I don't really know what happened other than there's a giant chicken that jumps in a pond and a car that beeps every time you tap the screen.

We've bought other Dora and Diego games before, with Diego proving to be fairly educational in comparison. Many games (including non Dora/Diego games) involve earning stickers that you place on a wall. The one I help out with a fair bit involves placing animal stickers on the countries that specific animals are from.

Whilst the iPhone is proving to be a daily argument, it is refreshing to know that she is picking up games and, in some cases, is actually learning about animals, colours and shapes in a fun and interactive way.

I'll never replace our nightly book read with a stint on an iPhone or iPad but one thing is for sure - technology is here and it's taking over. Do you have kids and if so, have you bought any cool games for your phone to keep them entertained?

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