Category: digital reading

How to Find Fun Educational Apps for Kids

Posted on | by KD Novelties
Educational Apps for Kids

Kids love playing games, and with more and more kids fascinated by their parent’s phones and other mobile devices, many children are spending more time playing video games and looking for apps that are appropriate for them and their interests. Some of the most popular games in the app store are big hits with kids, like Angry Birds, and while this game does teach kids some basics of physics, it’s mostly just a fun game. If your child is mesmerized by mobile devices, there are ways to harness that interest and use it to help bolster their early education.

There are plenty of educational games, activities and other apps that can benefit kids and their learning skills. With games that focus on math, spelling, language arts, science, social studies, languages, early learning, storybooks, games and more, kids can still have a blast while learning key skills that will help them perform better in the classroom.

When it comes to choosing the right educational apps for your child, there are so many for you to choose from. There are apps like Fishing with Grandpa available in the iTunes App Store that are great for developing early learning skills or Wonster Words, also available on iTunes for various devices, that helps acquaint kids with phonics. Traffic is a programming and coding game for children, a field that is exponentially growing and is becoming an arguably necessary and employable skill for people in many different fields. There are also interactive stories, like Pinky the Pink Penguin that aims to teach kids about diversity and accepting others because being different can be good. We also offer a wide variety of different personalized interactive e-books that can be downloaded and accessed on mobile devices for kids to peruse and learn key reading comprehension skills.

Personalized eBooks for Kids

There are other creative unique apps out there as well. ADHD Skill Boosters Tween is great for kids struggling with this particular disorder and helps them bolster their learning skills in a way that suits them and their needs. When it comes to finding the right apps for your kids, one of the best places to look is in recommendations lists or app pages that link to similar apps. Look at what games your child is known to like and see if there are any similar apps out there that might offer some educational benefits as well. Even searching for the apps listed here will bring you to even more “recommended” and “similar” apps that you can peruse. Before downloading an app, especially ones that cost money, make sure that you read the comments and that it is not too easy for your kids to accidentally buy features and other aspects of the app that they may advertise.

It also helps to remember that educational apps are still games. Spending time on a digital device is not inherently bad, and making sure that your child is acquainted with the various digital platforms out there can help prepare them for the world – but it is just as important that kids have variety in their daily activities. It is still important and beneficial to encourage reading from physical books, playing board games, being active in or out doors and participating in a wide range of different kinds of activities, is good for children and their overall development.

Raising Kids in the Digital Age

Posted on | by KD Novelties
Parenting in the Digital Age

It is an undeniable fact that we live in a digital age. As parents, remembering a time when things were simpler, but modern children will not have such memories. Sure, some pieces of technology will look and perform differently now than they will when they are older, but this generation and new-coming generations of children will not remember a time before the internet or a time where basic cable was all you had.

It can be hard enough keeping up with the times as an adult, but many parents out there are resorting to these technological advances a little too much. Sure, things are easier now, but that does not mean that certain things should be ignored or overlooked. It is still necessary to be a parent and to do some parenting in this so-called “digital age.”
Many of us have seen plenty of cartoons where homes are kept in order by programmed robots and other Artificial Intelligence, but there really is no substitute for the babysitter. Many more parents these days plop their kids in front of the TV equipped with on-demand channels or Netflix to appease their children while they do chores or other activities. Some parents are resorting to giving their children their phones or iPads to play with while mommy and daddy deal with grown up stuff. While these sorts of things may be great for a quiet afternoon or a long car ride, kids still need supervision. Simply putting on the TV or an interactive online game is not the same as having an adult presence. Doing so may lead to behavioral issues, and children may not listen and will prefer to do whatever they want, especially if they are not used to having an adult around. Kids may become more demanding when it comes to using these technologies. For example, if they are not used to watching TV or playing games for set periods of time, they may have difficulties understanding times where they are denied access or it is taken away from them.
There are other dangers to letting your TV or tablet become your babysitter. When kids are left to their own devices, they are often subservient to something called “curiosity.” Kids will explore other channels, look at other on-demand options, browse Netflix, or may even search the web. Many parents use parental controls to prevent these sorts of things from happening, but parents who are not around may not realize what content their children are being exposed to.
Apps and e-books for Kids

This is why it is so important to guide kids through the digital age. While one argument may arise that states to simply cut down on technology, which is still a good thing, it is also unavoidable in today’s society. Instead of letting Netflix babysit your kid, have yourself or an actual babysitter sit and explore it with them. Whether it is the TV, a tablet, or a phone, offering the proper guidance can help kids foster a healthy relationship with technology. It is imperative to help kids refrain from growing too reliant on technology, which may be the case if they are exposed to it for long periods of time, therefore making it hard adjusting to other activities.

Spending personal time with your children is important, so make sure that any time spent looking at online content or utilizing any of the world’s fabulous technological advances, are shared, healthy and informative. Having all of these aspects present can help create a healthy relationship between your child and technology where they can adapt to new advances without suffering socially or emotionally, with or without them.

Quick Tip: Get them their very own personalized book where they become the main character in the story.  This will sure excite them and take them away from digital technology and get them to read a book and enjoy it! Get a personalized book for your child today!





Are You Raising a Digi-Toddler?

Posted on | by KD Novelties
There is no denying the differences of our own childhoods in comparison to those of kids today. Even kids who grew up ten years ago did not have the childhood that kids today are brought into. Practically every aspect of our lives has become digital and this technology has found a niche in the developing demographic. Kids are enamored with these illuminated screens and dazzling animations, but how does this new technology affect the way these kids will develop?
The proliferation of this digital technology has seen a rise in literacy. Kids are becoming well acquainted with language because of the games, apps and programs they use on tablets, television shows and their parents’ phones. This technology begs kids to explore them, by introducing them to language, words and prompts at earlier ages. Not only are kids learning to read more widely without being urged to, they are also fast becoming technologically literate, as in learning a new language.

Over the past 20 years, computer and technology based education has been a necessity in order to teach the youth about this fast growing field of information. It is incredibly difficult to navigate society without knowing your way around today’s technology. Kids growing up and being born into this new generation are learning to navigate this technical world as they are learning to navigate the physical world around them too. They will have grown up with technology all of their lives and will much more easily adapt to and understand future developments and changes in this informational sphere. 

“Immersive” and “enticing” are the words that describe this technical world we live in. However, it can prove difficult to tear your child away from the TV screen or pry their fingers from a tablet. While their time spent with technology is valuable, so is there social development. Face to face interaction helps kids develop a healthy social life and develop key social skills. Interacting with people is important for developing social as well as behavioral skills. Kids also need time where they are stimulated by their own minds and not a screen. Time spent outside helps them develop a sense of independence and sense of self. 

Encourage them to read a book, make art or create their own game. Personalized Books for kids make great attention grabbers because children read about themselves in their very own story.  Personalized books enhances the reading experience, builds self-esteem in children and gets them motivated to want to read.  Exercising their imagination helps them develop key critical thinking and understanding skills that are invaluable in the academic atmosphere as well as solving their own personal problems.