The best apps for 12-year-olds in 2020
If you’re a parent of a 12-year-old, you’re probably wondering what the best apps are for your child. And if you’re an educator or therapist working with 12-year-olds, you may be looking for new ways to engage them in learning and development.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the most popular apps available today and what makes them so effective. Then we’ll share some tips on how you can use these apps with your own child or student.
Best Apps For 12 Year Olds 2020
Best Apps For 12 Year Olds 2020
SCHOOL LEARNING
Best Educational Apps for Kids
By Rebecca Bodenheimer Updated on March 14, 2022
Fact checked by Sean Blackburn
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Kids love screen time, but if you want your child to do a little less Pokémon chasing and a little more learning, there’s good news. Many of today’s apps for kids are combining technology and education to make learning more engaging, interactive, and—dare we say—fun than ever before.
Whatever skills or subjects your child is interested in, there are a wide variety of educational apps available. Ahead, we’ve highlighted the eight best learning apps for kids loved by parents and youngsters.
The 8 Best Educational Apps for Kids in 2022
Best Overall: Khan Academy
Best for Toddlers: Busy Shapes
Best for Preschoolers: ABCmouse.com
Best for Elementary School Kids: Prodigy
Best for Tweens: Google Arts and Culture
Best for Teens: Quizlet
Best for Social Emotional Learning and Kids with ADHD: Stop, Breathe and Think
Best for Teaching Kids Coding: Hopscotch
Best Educational Apps for Kids
Khan Academy
Busy Shapes
ABCmouse.Com
Prodigy
Google Arts And Culture
Quizlet
Stop, Breathe And Think
Hopscotch
Final Verdict
Compare Apps
FAQs
Methodology
BEST OVERALL
Khan Academy
Khan Academy
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: Free
Ages/Grades: Grades K–14
Apple/Android: Both
Why We Chose It: Suitable for beginner and advanced students, Khan Academy offers learning opportunities for students of all ages across many subjects, including math, economics, and history.
PROS
Totally free
Offers a wide variety of subjects
Suitable for foundational or supplemental learning
Includes introduction math classes for 3rd grade and up
Available in more than 36 languages
CONS
Self-paced design might not be right for everyone
Lacks foreign language courses
Khan Academy is the gold standard for educational apps, particularly considering the wide range of courses it offers for students of all ages and that it’s free. Khan Academy’s YouTube videos cover a range of levels for most subjects: math, science and engineering, arts and humanities (including history and social studies), economics, AP courses, and test prep.
English language arts (ELA) seems to be one notable weakness of Khan Academy courses, though it has some work-in-progress offerings for second- to ninth-grade students. There also are no foreign language courses, though Khan Academy instruction is available in dozens of languages, with varying numbers of course offerings.
Khan Academy is popular among students, parents, and educators because its videos are engaging and targeted at visual learners, using photos, maps, and other illustrations, and because it allows students to work at their own pace.
The courses include quizzes to test students’ comprehension. Khan Academy also has shifted toward developing materials in conjunction with Common Core. A junior version, Khan Academy Kids, targets young learners from two to seven years old. It’s a mobile device app that covers math, ELA, logic, and socio-emotional learning by using books, games, songs, and videos.
The 7 Best Apps for Toddlers of 2022
BEST FOR TODDLERS
Busy Shapes
Busy Shapes
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: $3
Ages/Grades: Ages 2–5
Apple/Android: Both
Why We Chose It: Your toddler will love moving the shapes around in this app, and you’ll love that it’s secretly teaching them spatial recognition and object awareness.
PROS
Easy for little hands to use
Gradually becomes more challenging
Encourages problem-solving skills
Available in 21 languages
CONS
Doesn’t display or say the name of the shapes
Some users reported glitchy or “unsolvable” levels
Busy Shapes is an app aligned with the Montessori method of self-directed, hands-on learning. As such, it’s perfect for young kids just starting to interact with technology. The app is designed to develop young children’s logic and reasoning skills by learning about how objects relate to each other and how they can manipulate them.
Busy Shapes is simple to play. Kids drag an object into a hole—they are challenged to match the shape of the object with the corresponding hole—and eventually, another object and hole will appear in a new setting.
Most importantly, there are no instructions, which is something toddlers can’t really handle—it’s all child-directed.
The challenge increases over time, with multiple objects and holes of different shapes. Busy Shapes costs $2.99.
Toddler Development
BEST FOR PRESCHOOLERS
ABCmouse.com
ABCMouse.com
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: $13 per month
Ages/Grades: Ages 2–8
Apple/Android: Both
Why We Chose It: ABCmouse.com has more than 10,000 activities available to play on its app or website. There are games for traditional subjects, like math, science, and language arts, as well as art activities, songs, and puzzles.
PROS
Designed by educators and experts in early learning
One account can have up to three profiles
Includes school subjects plus games and puzzles
Highly adaptable to age and skill levels
Advertisement-free website
Free 30-day trial
CONS
More expensive than other options
Only available in English and Spanish
More than just an app, ABCmouse.com is essentially a well-rounded curriculum for preschoolers. It’s designed for children aged 2 through 8 but is best for younger kids who haven’t started kindergarten.
It includes hundreds of interactive games, activities, and videos related to reading, math, science, and art. It’s also a multi-platform program that can be used on a computer or mobile device.
Skills Your Child Needs Before Starting Kindergarten
Because it’s a full-fledged curriculum, ABCmouse isn’t cheap—it costs $9.95/month. However, if your child doesn’t attend preschool, the app is a great substitute to get them ready for elementary school, as parents can track their progress.
The only reservation some reviewers, such as Common Sense Media, have with ABCmouse is that it rewards children’s progress with tickets, which can be used to purchase virtual items. While this feature is sure to be successful in keeping kids using the program, some would argue it encourages consumerism instead of learning for learning’s sake.
BEST FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS
Prodigy
Prodigy Math Tutoring
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: Free for basic; premium memberships cost $10 to $15 per month and $75 to $100 per year
Ages/Grades: Grades 1–8
Apple/Android: Both
Why We Chose It: Prodigy helps students learn math while having fun by providing interactive games that align with the curriculum they’re learning at school.
PROS
Features math curriculum standards for grades 1–8
Play online or via app
Can be used for practice or initial learning
CONS
Ads encourage membership and in-app purchases
Fantasy theme might not be for everyone
Prodigy is one of the most popular math games on the market, largely because it’s set up like a video game. It’s a fantasy-based web and app game that covers math topics for kids from first through eighth grade.
Prodigy is more designed to test kids’ knowledge rather than introduce them to math topics for the first time. Kids earn spells by answering questions correctly and get to do monster battles as they move through different fantasy worlds.
The basic app is free, but a paid subscription offers more features. The premium fee is $8.95 per month, which is discounted if you buy an annual subscription. Despite the fact that Prodigy is widely loved by kids, one drawback for parents is that there seems to be significant pressure within the game to make in-app purchases.
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BEST FOR TWEENS
Google Arts and Culture
Arts and Culture
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: Free
Ages/Grades: Ages 12 and older
Apple/Android: Both
Why We Chose It: Google’s interactive Arts and Culture lets students explore art, history, geography, and cultures from all over the world by allowing them to tour museums, learn about international foods, and much more in the palm of their hands.
PROS
Designed for project research or just for fun
Transform your own photos into artwork
Virtual tours of museums around the world
Lots of information on art and culture
Entertaining and educational for tweens and adults
CONS
Database isn’t very user-friendly
Some content is restricted by location
A free mobile app has been developed to accompany the well-known website, which offers a treasure trove of virtual travel and sight-seeing. The app lets you search by keyword or category and read relevant editorials about the art collections.
While Google Arts and Culture became famous for its selfie feature, which allows you to compare your face to great works of art, the site and app contain a wealth of information on museum collections, artists, theater and performing arts, historic figures, and events.
Google Arts and Culture is an invaluable resource for tweens who are assigned research projects, as it can provide in-depth information that goes far beyond the written word to include images and videos. While the app truly can be enjoyed by people of many ages, the amount of information available can be overwhelming for younger kids who may not know how to use search terms efficiently.
Extracurricular Activities for Your Tween
BEST FOR TEENS
Quizlet
Quizlet
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: Free
Ages/Grades: Ages 13 and older
Apple/Android: Both
Why We Chose It: Quizlet makes it easy to prepare for tests by letting you create as many flashcard sets as you want on your phone or computer. It offers different testing methods, such as multiple choice and true/false questions, plus it has millions of sets available that students already have designed.
PROS
Offers flashcards, games, diagrams, and study guides
Can be used by students or teachers
Seven study modes allow for personalized instruction
Millions of flashcards sets available
CONS
Users say that editing flashcards can be difficult
Interface can be hard to organize
Self-directed study is an important skill for high schoolers, and Quizlet is one of the most effective apps on the market for reviewing material a student will be tested on. Teachers and students can create study sets/flashcards on many topics—from the periodic table to U.S. presidents to vocabulary words and more.
The Quizlet Learn feature provides different types of testing, such as true-and-false and multiple-choice questions. Based on the user’s performance, the difficulty increases over time. Quizlet is particularly good for foreign language study, and its audio pronunciation is better than many other apps.
Quizlet has 500 million archived study sets already created by users, so new users can search within those to see if a study set already has been created that matches up with their needs.
Like Wikipedia, the study sets aren’t fact-checked, so users need to be aware that they may contain errors. However, it’s a free resource, so users should weigh the benefits with the drawbacks.
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BEST FOR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING AND KIDS WITH ADHD
Stop, Breathe and Think
Stop, Breathe and Think
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: Free; $10 for monthly premium membership; or $59 for premium annual membership
Ages/Grades: Ages 4 and older
Apple/Android: Both
Why We Chose It: Just like adults, kids should practice mindfulness every day. The Stop, Breathe and Think app helps kids recognize and understand their feelings as well as learn how to manage them.
PROS
Kid-friendly mindfulness instructions via video lessons
Features breathing exercises and mood check-ins
Different premium membership options
Bilingual options for Spanish speakers
CONS
Limited content for non-subscription members
Some users dislike the guided meditations
Stop, Breathe & Think is a wonderful app that promotes social-emotional learning and helps tweens and teens regulate their emotions. It starts by having kids take a breath and then asks them how they’re feeling physically and mentally. Based on those results, the app suggests a range of guided meditations lasting less than 10 minutes.
Teen Parenting Tips (13-, 14-, 15-, 16-, 17-, and 18-Year-Olds)
Some meditations are available in Spanish, and there also is a version of the app geared toward younger kids aged 5 to 10 years old, Stop, Breathe & Think Kids: Focus, Calm & Sleep. This version uses emojis to allow kids to express how they’re feeling at the moment and gives them guided meditation “missions” to complete.
While there is a free version, some features are available only through the Premium version, which is around $9.99/month with a significant discount if you subscribe for a whole year. Stop, Breathe & Think is particularly useful for kids with ADHD (around 5% to 10% of the population) who tend to have trouble focusing, staying on task, and controlling their impulses.1
Some educators even use the Stop, Breathe & Think app in their classrooms.
BEST FOR TEACHING KIDS CODING
Hopscotch
Hopscotch
Sign Up Now
Key Specs
Price: $8 per month or $80 for annual subscription
Ages/Grades: Ages 10-16
Apple/Android: Apple
Why We Chose It: Ideal for beginners, Hopscotch is a great way for kids to explore the world of computer programming. Kids learn coding, problem-solving, and logical and mathematical skills while having fun creating projects.
PROS
Kid-friendly programming
Provides play-along video tutorials
Can create games, stories, and art
Values kids’ privacy
CONS
Not available on Android devices
Not suitable for seasoned programmers
Hopscotch is a coding app designed for kids 10 to 16 years old. It’s built much like Scratch, one of the first programs developed to introduce kids to computer programming, but Hopscotch is built specifically for mobile devices (only iPads and iPhones), while Scratch is web-based.
Hopscotch is free with in-app purchases available.
The way Hopscotch works is that kids can drag and drop commands and instructions into a script to create their own programs. They can customize their programs by choosing characters, save and share their creations with the Hopscotch community, and comment on and play others’ creations.
It’s a great way for kids to be creative and start learning how computer programming works without worrying about difficult, technical coding language. It’s also a good starter coding app from which kids can move on to more complex programs like Scratch on a desktop or laptop.
Final Verdict
Khan Academy is the best education app because it’s free, easy to use, and works well for every age group. It provides informational videos and online exercises to help kids excel in a variety of subjects, including math, science, and language arts. Students can go at their own pace, which allows them to take their time to learn about each topic.
For toddlers and preschoolers, Busy Shapes and ABCMouse.com are equal parts entertaining and educational. For older kids, we recommend Quizlet, Hopscotch, and Google Arts and Culture apps. Quizlet is the perfect tool for studying; Hopscotch is ideal for beginner programmers; and Google Arts and Culture is an excellent app for those interested in art, history, culture, and travel.
Compare Apps
Company Price Ages/Grades Skills/Subjects Taught Apple/Android
Khan Academy
Best Overall Free Grades K-14 Varies: math, science, reading, life skills, and more Both
Busy Shapes
Best for Toddlers $3 Ages 2-5 Logic and reason Both
ABCmouse.com
Best for Preschoolers $13 per month Ages 2-8 Reading, math, science, art and colors Both
Prodigy
Best for Elementary School Kids Free for basic; premium memberships cost $10 to $15 per month and $75 to $100 per year Grades 1-8 Math Both
Google Arts and Culture
Best for Tweens Free Ages 12 and up Art, history, geography, culture Both
Quizlet
Best for Teens Free Ages 13 and up Varies: languages, science, arts and more Both
Stop, Breathe and Think
Best for Social Emotional Learning and Kids with ADHD Free; $10 for monthly premium membership, or $59 for premium annual membership Ages 4 and up Mindfulness, meditation, stress and anxiety management Both
Hopscotch
Best for Teaching Kids Coding $8 per month or $80 for annual subscription Ages 10-15 Computer programming and coding Apple
FAQs
What Are Some Pros and Cons of Educational Apps for Kids?
Educational apps help kids acquire the skills they need to perform everyday tasks and future job duties. They also can help to spark kids’ interest in topics they otherwise might find boring. Teachers can use apps to vary and customize their teaching methods and styles, so students can take advantage of their strengths and learn at their own pace.
On the other hand, using educational apps can lead to your child having too much overall screen time and may lead to distraction and overstimulation. While most of these apps have been around for several years and are highly valued as learning tools, they aren’t a substitute for person-to-person instruction and free play. Too much screen time might hurt your child’s ability to learn social skills.2
APA Screen Time Recommendations
The American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) recommends no screens for children younger than 18 months, and up to one hour of high-quality screen time for children older than 2 years. Ideally, parents should engage with media alongside young children.3
How Too Much Screen Time Can Hurt Kids and Their Families
How Much Do Educational Apps for Kids Cost?
Some educational apps are free to download, but those versions usually offer limited features. You’ll likely need to pay a fee to access all of the app’s features. To purchase an educational app for kids, the one-time download cost usually ranges from $1 to $4.
Other apps are available for a monthly or yearly subscription fee, which can range from approximately $5 to $20 per month. These types of apps usually include features such as an extensive curriculum, diagnostic tools, progress reports, and personalized recommendations.
How Can I Monitor Apps on My Kid’s iPad?
Parental control apps can be used to see what your kids are doing on their smartphones and tablets. The apps can monitor app usage, set limits on screen time, and block kids from using certain apps. Although there are some free parental control apps, most require buying a monthly or yearly subscription for approximately $5 to $10 per month.
How Parents Can Set Screen Time Limits
How We Chose the Best Educational Apps For Kids
We consulted dozens of editorial reviews by relevant publications—like parenting and tech magazines, as well as reviews by nonprofit organizations like Common Sense Media, the National Educational Association, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
For this category, we aimed to provide app recommendations for children aged 2 through 18, and also to highlight a few unique categories that have become important in the field of education recently, such as social-emotional learning and coding. In addition, we tested out some of the apps to become familiar with their features.
A Word From Verywell
The best educational apps have features that allow children to be actively engaged, not get distracted, and connect the app content to their existing knowledge. Finally, open-ended, choose-your-own-adventure-style apps are more likely to be educational than linear ones, because they are child-led instead of app-led.
most popular apps for 12 year olds
Children from middle childhood onwards are very keen to use social media to stay in touch with their friends. Set the social media profile up with your child, so that you and they understand about the privacy settings. So it’s important to talk with your kids about how to use social media wisely. Kids understand that you respect their privacy but want to make sure they’re safe.
In 2020, amongst 9-16 year olds who go online (most of them), 73% have a profile on a social network, and 79% visited a social networking site in the last week (Childwise Monitor Special Report).
Yet the thing is, as your kids get older then sooner or later they’re going to try it out anyway and at some point it’s inevitable they’ll be interacting with others online. So would it not be best to allow your kids to use some form of introductory social media, under your supervision, so that they are better prepared when they finally come of age? Permitting your child to engage in social networking will arm them with the knowledge they will need in their teenage years to keep them safe.
That’s where social media apps for children come in and when downloaded to your smartphone you can retain an element of control over their interactions, and keep tabs on anything that seems untoward. Our list of child-friendly social media apps are designed to help children learn how to engage with friends and share their experiences safely online.
Here is the list of the best social media apps for your children to keep them safe online.
Edmodo
- Edmodo
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Edmodo is a full-featured social learning platform designed to connect and collaborate within the educational environment. It is a social media network which is not only perfect for teachers and students but also to parents or guardians to use to share information in school. It collaborates and connect, share content and get access homework, school notices and grades.
Edmodo provides an educational social networking platform for schools, where teachers provide students with an access code they can use to access Edmodo to collaborate on academic projects. Combining the curriculum with learning how to interact on social media, this social media for kids app is great for kids for two very important reasons making it one of the best social media apps for kids.
Devices: iPhone, iPad and Android
Price: Free
Club Penguin Island
- Club Penguin Island
(iPhone, iPad)
Club Penguin app teaches kids on how to behave and communicate effectively and respectfully in a safe online community. Disney’s Club Penguin app is as family friendly as you would expect a Disney app to be –providing a virtual realm where kids visit different ‘islands’, filled with games and chat rooms to interact with their friends.
Club Penguin encourages players to give the online “coins” they earn in games to charity, and teaches about good citizenship. Earning and saving coins can encourage kids to practice saving and planning toward a goal, and adopting cute colors and types of puffles also is a lightly educational exercise in collecting and categorizing.
A potent mix of fun and Internet safety makes this one of the “stickiest” virtual worlds for youngsters. This social media for kids app doesn’t feature all the same content as the Club Penguin website, but it still can help kids learn about playing safely and responsibly in an online community.
The social media app for kids features parental controls that include time limits for usage and a ‘safe chat’ mode, where children select from pre-formatted messages rather than freely typing. Parents can also report inappropriate language used if the free chat option is used instead. All things considered, a great social media for kids app for getting kids used to social media making it one of the best social media apps for kids.
Devices: iPhone, iPad
Price: Free
IXL
Instagram
- Instagram
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Kids can learn some basic concepts about photography and exercise some creativity with Instagram. The service is designed to be an inherently social one, so teens using Instagram will learn some of the ins and outs (and perhaps ups and downs) of social networking. They’ll have to make decisions about the kind of network they want to build and exercise judgment when they’re communicating with others. Instagram isn’t a deep learning experience, but it lets teens express themselves through photos as they build their social networks.
Technically, in their terms of service Instagram state that their app is restricted for use by people aged thirteen and over, though no proof of age is required so this is a restriction that is easily bypassed.
This does however give you a bargaining tool if your child is 12 and under, as you can allow them permission to use it as long as the account is in your name. If you do choose to let your child use Instagram then this is best, as it will allow you to supervise their use and review the accounts they follow.
As it is essentially based around taking and editing photos, Instagram can be an exceptional creative outlet for children, allowing their artistic flair to flourish. There are children who took the their Instagram experience to the next level and became kid influencers. Those young influencers promote leading brands, in most cases, by reviewing their product on the kid’s eye level. Many of them enjoy a great success, just like the “orthodox” review sites making it one of the best social media apps for kids.
Devices: iPhone, iPad and Android
Price: Free
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Hand-picked educational apps by teachers that will improve your child’s learning.
PopJam
- PopJam
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
PopJam is a creativity/social media app where kids (including kids under 13) can post content and connect with other users. Kids can create and post drawings, use stickers, animations, and images (so long as they’re not identifiable in the images), take quizzes, play games, and more. It’s been called “Instagram for kids” because kids can have followers who view and comment on their posts, and they can follow and comment on other users’ posted content.
The app uses moderators and limits posts to the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The app’s parents’ portal is robust, and the site also offers tips for keeping kids safe online making it one of the best social media apps for kids.
Devices: iPhone, iPad and Android
Price: Free
ChatFOSS
- ChatFOSS
(iPhone, iPad)
ChatFOSS is a safe social media app that combines the functionality of messenger, snapchat and Instagram, where users can instantly share messages, photos and videos with their friends. ChatFOSS has been specifically designed by parents, teachers and children to be a place for children to use social media without the risks that come with free-to-use apps. There are lots of safe video chat apps designed for kids to connect with family and close friends from their tablets or smartphones.
ChatFOSS encourages one-to-one communication, carries no advertising on it and does not allow strangers to search for or contact your children. In the ChatFOSS app, you can only make friends with other children if you both choose to invite each other, which requires knowing your friend’s ChatFOSS ID and vice-versa. This provides a unique level of safety in that it stops people searching for others that they don’t know and making inappropriate friend requests.
Parents also receive a notification every time their child makes a new friend, ensuring you know exactly who your child is talking to.
Devices: Web, Windows, macOS
Price: Free
GeckoLife
- GeckoLife
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
GeckoLife is a social network for families or small groups with privacy features designed with kids’ safety in mind.Kids can learn how to use social media safely and wisely working alongside a parent. Though GeckoLife was not designed specifically with educational intent, parents can use it to model good social-networking manners and help kids develop smart social-networking skills in a safe environment. It’d be great to see a few videos or tutorials in this social media for kids app to reinforce digital citizenship to kids. Overall, GeckoLife gives kids a safe platform to develop social media skills making it one of the best social media apps for kids.
Devices: iPhone, iPad and Android
Price: Free
Messenger Kids
- Messenger Kids
(Android, iPhone, iPad)
Messenger Kids has all the fun features that tweens can’t wait to use: live photo filters like Snapchat, video chatting, GIFs, and more. The built in parental controls include time limits, adding contacts approval and monitoring tools to view chat and exchange of photos, GIF’s, stickers etc. Facebook requires users to be at least 13 years old to use the site (although many kids ignore this restriction). There is, however, a Facebook Messenger app for users under the age of 13 that allows kids to send texts, photos, and videos. They can also add doodles or stickers to the pictures they send. Messenger Kids is ad-free and Facebook has stated that the company will not use data collected from the app to target advertising to parents. Messenger Kids does collect data (although the app is COPPA compliant), so read up thoroughly before deciding whether to let your child join.
Devices: iPhone, iPad and Android
Price: Free
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