With the inevitable rise of screen consumption (thanks, Covid!), and the development of increasingly innovative tablets and apps to meet today’s demands, we understand how important it is for families to learn how to navigate the digital age.
To help you strike a balance with screen time, read on for the current recommended guidelines, as well as our list of top apps that help to balance both entertainment and education.
Recommended Screen Guidelines
Up to 18 months
Parents, in case you were wondering: it’s okay that your little one has been Face-Timing with Grandpa or Grandma on the regular! The American Academy of Pediatrics approves of screen video chatting for kids younger than 18 months, as it’s considered positive interaction time.
For an immersive viewing experience on your video calls, try Samsung’s newly released Galaxy Tab A8. With its 10.5” wide screen, handy Screen Recorder and powerful Dolby Atmos® surround sound, it’s the closest thing to having your loved ones right there in the room with you!
18 to 24 months old
Toddlers between 18 months to 24 months can start to enjoy some limited, high-quality screen time – but remember to avoid solo viewing. Instead, make sure that the littles are accompanied by a parent or caregiver to ensure their safety, and guide their learning.
Age 2 and onwards
Kids within this age range can enjoy an hour of high-quality programming a day. Try some of these Common Sense Media-approved TV shows that are safe and suitable for the littles!
Top Apps for Kids
To get your child accustomed to the world of online learning, we’ve also sourced the best educational apps for you to download to make their screen time safe, intentional – and a lot of fun!
Toddler Learning
1. Busy Shapes and Colours
A creative and motivating digital playground for learning the names of 11 shapes and colours. Based on the award-winning Busy Shapes app, this game is 100% intuitive, making it ideal for preschoolers, as they can choose to focus on colours or shapes, or mix them together.
Recommended Age: Up to 5 years old
Cost: RM17.99
2. Fish School
With eight fun and educational activities, your preschooler will learn important early concepts, alongside colourful schools of fish that magically transform themselves into different letters, numbers, shapes and more!
Recommended Age: Up to 5 years old
Cost: Free
General Learning
3. Khan Academy Kids
This brilliant and beloved app will guide young learners on a delightful journey through key skills in math, reading, phonics, writing, social-emotional development, and more. With catchy songs and yoga videos, your littles will also have fun moving, dancing, and getting their wiggles out.
Recommended Age: 2-8 years old
Cost: Free
4. ABC Mouse
Providing a well-rounded curriculum for preschoolers, the Step-by-Step Learning Path by ABC Mouse presents a carefully designed program of more than 850 lessons throughout 10 levels. The progressive and fun-filled activities make this perfect for the younger kids, and can be a helpful way to prepare the older kids for primary school too.
Recommended Age: 2 -8 years old
Cost: USD12.99/month with first month free
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math)
5. MarcoPolo World School
An early learning program that helps children develop the 21st century skills they need to prepare for school and beyond, as they learn about the fascinating world around them. Designed by Early Childhood Education PhD specialists, the app’s STEAM and literacy curriculum invites children on a magical journey of more than 400 premium lessons and 3000 interactive learning activities.
Recommended Age: 3-7 years old
Cost: RM46.99/month, with 7 day free trial
6. Lightbot: Code Hour
Kids are introduced to the basic concepts of coding — all without having to actually code! This app is a great way to get your kid interested in coding and computer programming, in an easy, kid-friendly way. Watch as the little ones try and get the app’s main character, Lightbot, through different pathways by using functions commonly found in code. Try out the junior version for kids below 8 years of age.
Recommended Age: 6+ years old
Cost: Free
Math
7. Moose Math
A fun and brightly coloured journey for the kids, as they earn rewards, build their own city and decorate buildings using easy mathematical principles. Moose Math teaches counting, addition, subtraction, sorting, geometry and more through five fun multi-level activities in the Moose Juice Store, Puck’s Pet Shop and Lost & Found.
Recommended Age: 3-7 years old
Cost: Free
8. Prodigy
All kids love their video games! It’s no wonder Prodigy is one of the most popular math games on the market. Students will be motivated at all levels with this app being set up like a video game – answering math questions to complete epic quests.
Recommended Age: 6-14 years old
Cost: Free, with paid upgrade available
Reading
9. Epic!
Fuel curiosity and reading confidence with this e-book library that contains 40,000-plus books, videos, and audiobooks for little bookworms. Epic! also includes a read-to-me feature for little ones who are still learning to read.
Recommended Age: Up to12 years old
Cost: Free (1 book a day), with paid unlimited annual or monthly plan available
Social Emotional Learning
10. Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
Apply Sesame’s “Breathe, Think, Do” strategy for problem-solving and help a Sesame Street monster friend calm down and solve everyday challenges! This research-based app aims to provide tools to help children build skills for resilience, and overcome everyday stresses and challenges.
Recommended Age: Up to 5 years old
Cost: Free
Social Science
11. Homes by Tinybop
(Digitally) play in faraway places and explore cultures around the world. Wander into unique homes throughout different countries, make meals, decorate, and play games. From NYC to Mongolia, Yemen to Guatemala, this app will help your kid make themselves right at home!
Recommended Age: 4+ years old
Cost: RM23.99 a year (with the other Tinybop apps being unlocked as well), 7 day free trial available
12. Atlas Mission
Get your little explorer to experience the wonders of the real world firsthand, as they take part in an epic adventure alongside Atlas Finch™, the traveling Robot! Each mission (set within a specific country) will help to improve your kid’s geographical and cultural skills, as well as other key early learning concepts.
Recommended Age: 3-7 years old
Cost: Free, with in-app purchases
Make family time fun with a high quality tablet that provides a safe, comfortable and engaging experience for your little learners! The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 brings out the best in your child’s online learning, offering enhanced learning features, robust interactive educational content and a personalised tablet experience. With convenient parental controls in place, parents can now help to set their kids’ screen time goals, access a comprehensive snapshot of device usage and activity all in one place, and safeguard viewing with the tablet’s multi-layer protection functions.
The Galaxy Tab A8 (Wi-Fi 3+32GB) is now available with a Recommended Retail Price of RM999. Buyers can enjoy two free gifts with their purchase until 28th February 2022, namely one Clear Edge Cover worth RM99[1] and one year Samsung Care+ coverage plan worth RM110[2]. Find more about the Galaxy Tab A8 here, or visit their website here to learn more about their current promotion.
Disclaimer: makchic received a complimentary copy of the Galaxy Tab A8, courtesy of Samsung. As always, however, the products we choose to highlight on our website are consciously recommended for their quality, performance, and unique benefits to our readership.
