Apple App Store: Four of the best-rated educational apps for new parents - and those with young children

• There are many highly-rated apps available to help new parents navigate different facets of parenting
• These span many milestone moments from the early years, from starting solids to starting nursery school
• A lot of them are designed by experts too, giving you access to content created by paediatricians and speech therapists so your child can get the best start

Becoming a parent is an enormous upheaval.

Suddenly, you’ve got a little person who’s entirely dependent on you, who hasn’t yet learned how to eat, sleep, walk, talk, or take care of themselves. And they don’t exactly come with a guidebook.

Luckily, there are plenty of expert-developed apps out there to help guide new parents through different stages in their tot’s development, from starting solid foods safely, to learning new sounds and words. There are even apps to help families and early childhood education providers work more closely together, for parents who have headed back to work.

We’ve sorted through the most popular free ‘education’ apps in the Apple App Store for Great Britain (as of Friday, 7 February), and curated a list of those aimed specifically at very young children and their parents, aimed at helping guide them through milestone life skills. This means that we’ve excluded some high-rated education apps, including those aimed at adults, classroom apps, and those that are more game than learning tool.

Here were four of the mostly highly-rated apps for parents of young children:

From helping teach essential skills to connecting you with your child's nursery school - there's probably an app for that | (Image: National World/Adobe Stock)

1. ParentZone

It’s never too early to start applying for nursery schools or other early childhood care centres - with the process of finding one often being both time-consuming and competitive. But when your toddler does finally head off, it’s often the first time you’ve been away from them for any significant length of time - which can sometimes be a source of anxiety. That’s where ParentZone comes in, a highly-rated app designed to connect care ECE care providers with parents.

Currently rated 38th overall for education apps in Great Britain, with a rating of 4.8 out of five stars by more than 32 thousand users, ParentZone is similar to other popular classroom apps for older children. Of course, your child’s nursery does actually need to use it for the app to be of any use to you, but if they do, you can get real-time updates about your child’s meals, naps, nappy changes, accidents, medicines - they can even send photos. You can also let your provider know about observations you make at home, as well as paying bills, and getting pick-up reminders. On top of that, you’ll get access to ParentHub - an educational hub with all sorts of tips and advice for parents on topics like sleep, and more.

One user who left a review wrote: “Love the idea, love the overall outcome, which is feeling involved in my infant’s day - as involved as I need or want to be while she’s in the care of brilliant professionals. Love being able to see pictures and keeping up with meals and nappies without having to labour the detail at pick-up with the nursery staff.”

ParentZone is free for parents to download and use, although they must be invited by their child’s nursery school or ECE centre. You can find it in the Apple App Store here.

2. Lingokids

Let’s be honest, all parents need a break sometimes - and often screentime can be a good way to keep small children occupied. While we’ve excluded most of the game apps designed for young people, Lingokids offers so much more - a lot of it very helpful for parents of younger children. Lingokids is currently ranked 47th overall in education apps for iPhone, (although its developers note it is primarily designed for iPads), and has a rating of 4.3 stars out of 5 by more than 50 thousand users.

With exclusive content designed by academic powerhouses like NASA and the Oxford University Press, Lingokids specialises in ‘playlearning’; a patented teaching methodology that uses games, quizzes, digital books, videos, and songs to help children build all kinds of educational skills. But as well as being an ad-free, trustworthy alternative to letting your young child play mindlessly on an iPad, Lingokids also helps teach essential life skills - from brushing your teeth, to getting dressed, to communicating feelings, to healthy eating.

One reviewer, whose 5-year-old daughter asked them to download it, wrote: “Ever since she has loved it. I had to install it on both my tablet and phone in the end as she couldn’t get enough of. Then I ended up buying the membership. The games seem fun for her and [she learns] at the same time.”

While the basic version of Lingokids is free, families can also upgrade to a premium subscription for additional content. Lingokids is classified as suitable for children aged 4 and up, but the developers say it is designed for 2 to 8 year olds. You can find it in the Apple App Store here.

3. Solid Starts: Baby First Foods

Currently ranked 57th overall for education apps with a rating of 4.9 stars out of 5 by about two thousand users, Solid Starts is a new parent’s partner and guide in introducing their baby to solid foods.

The app is built by a team of certified paediatricians, infant feeding therapists, swallowing specialists, allergists and dietitians, its developers say, and can help guide you “no matter where your child is in their food journey”. Containing a database of more than 400 foods, including how to prepare and serve them for babies, nutritional info, and choking and allergen guidance, the app offers customised meals, tips and articles relevant to your baby’s age and stage. It can help recommend new foods to try next, while keeping a digital log of your baby’s favourites, what you’d like to try next, and possible reactions so you can discuss them with a doctor.

One user wrote that the app had become their baby-led weaning (BLW) bible. “This became my one stop shop for everything BLW. It provided me with the guidance I needed to help my baby join us at the table. It provided me with the confidence to stand my ground with my approach using medical professional advice and information. And it helped me and my baby form a wonderful relationship with our meal times. I learnt how capable he was and it was such a gift to be able to trust him and have him be independent, watching him enjoy his meals.”

While the Solid Starts app is free to download and offers some content for free, but a subscription is required to access the rest. These start at £99.99 per year. You can find it in the Apple App Store here.

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4. Speech Blubs: Language Therapy

Speech Blubs is currently 91st for iPhone education apps in the App Store, and has a rating of 3.8 stars out of 5 by about a thousand users. The app is aimed at children just learning to speak - and at keeping the process engaging and fun.

Created by speech therapists, teachers, and parents, Speech Blubs is a voice-controlled app that can help your child learn new sounds and words, and practice speaking. Based on a science-backed approach that suggests kids learn faster and better from other kids, the app uses video modelling for immersive learning, where children observe their peers as ‘teachers’ on video. It also uses ABA therapy-inspired positive reinforcement, that rewards kids with fun games and stickers for trying - without ads or other distractions.

The app has mixed reviews on the App Store, with some parents citing issues cancelling their trials. One recent user wrote: “Speech Blubs is an interactive speech learning app that my toddler enjoys. One of the app's notable features is the use of video modelling, where children imitate sounds and words after watching short videos of their peers. This approach encourages imitation and repetition.”

Speech Blubs is free to download and offers a seven-day free trial, but then requires a subscription to use. These start at £14.99 per month, or £48.99 per year. The app is suitable for children aged 4 and up, but is specifically aimed at young people aged 0 to 5. You can find it in the Apple App Store here.

There are apps available for parents with children of all ages and stages. For those with older children revising for secondary school exams this year, try these apps. For those looking for fun, educational apps to help young children build basic reading and maths skills, you can check these ones out.