As a parent, you want to do what’s best for your kids. You probably already tried to figure out which apps are best for children, but now that your little ones are growing up, you’re noticing that their entertainment options are changing. The apps and games they enjoyed at age 7 or 8 may no longer be appropriate.
So what are the best apps for tweens? These days, kids between the ages of 9 and 12 enjoy using different types of apps than they did several years ago. This article will explore some of the most popular choices for this age group, and how they can help keep your child engaged and entertained.
Table of Contents
best apps for tweens 2015
10 children’s app trends for 2015
How your kids might be playing, learning and creating on devices this year, as well as how those apps may get them out in the real world
Many children are growing up with apps and digital media as part of their lives, alongside reading, physical play, television and other forms of entertainment and learning.
Plenty of companies, from the biggest children’s brands to brand new technology startups, are exploring the potential of tablets and apps for kids, so what do they have in store for 2015? Here are some of the key trends for parents to look out for.
1. Digital storytelling finds its identities
It’s no surprise that the first few waves of children’s apps – at least the ones telling stories – took their cues heavily from books, complete with digital pages to turn. There’s still a place for that, but there’s plenty of room for invention too: less about apps trying to be better than books, and more about being different.
How can text, animation and touchscreen interactivity blend together in new and engaging ways? Children’s apps sit neatly between books, TV and games, and I suspect we’ll see more launched this year that manage to mix those three formats unclunkily. Identities? Plural because there won’t be one single format that works.
2. Children are storytellers too
It sounds like a blitheringly obvious statement – of course children tell stories. But until relatively recently, it was something ignored by many developers of book-apps: kids could tap on the screen to interact with characters and scenery, but the actual story remained decidedly linear.
We’ll see more apps this year that aim to put storytelling tools in the hands of children to create their own tales: whether pre-packed collections of characters, scenery and situations to play with, or stories that get children to write/draw in characters as they read.
Existing examples: Tate’s Noisy Neighbours gets kids to draw their own characters, while TeleStory gets them filming their own TV shows.
3. Responsible use of in-app purchases
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Children’s apps and in-app purchases is a very sensitive topic, thanks to the all-too-regular examples in recent years of kids blowing their parents’ credit cards on virtual items in mobile games. One under-reported point: it’s rarely children’s apps that they’re playing, but usually games intended for adults.
This has understandably put many parents off any app that uses in-app purchases, but in 2015 we’ll see more actual children’s apps that use the model responsibly: as a way for parents to check if an app is suitable and enjoyable for their child before choosing which bits to pay for.
Existing examples: Endless Wordplay, which sells packs of words to practise spelling, or Nosy Crow Jigsaws, which sells puzzles but unlocks them for free if parents own its other apps.
4. Parents as part of the process
Yes, children do use apps alone, but that doesn’t mean they’re just “digital babysitters” as critics often suggest. Increasingly, developers are designing their apps in the knowledge that parents will often be sitting alongside their kids and being an active part of the process. Expect a fair few of these in 2015.
There’ll also be more development around the idea of parental “dashboards” – ways they can log in from their own devices to see what their children have been doing, and how the apps they’re using are improving various skills. But another encouraging trend is apps that educate parents too: particularly those that suggest more non-digital activities to follow on the learning.
Existing examples: Disney’s Mickey’s Magical Maths World is part of a new series of apps with a separate parental-dashboard app, Disney Imagicademy Parents. Meanwhile Curious Playground gets children making games together.
5. Kids’ coding apps continue to evolve
The introduction of computer programming into the English curriculum for children as young as five has sparked debate, particularly around the demands it places on teachers. 2015 will provide some answers in that debate, although they might not all be positive ones.
Alongside that, though, there is a lot of activity around apps that help children take their first steps in programming (or, at least, programming-like thinking). Can cute characters and blocks of code tempt kids away from pure games, and if so, can they also really be a stepping stone to the programming they’ll be doing later in school? We’ll be finding out over the next 12 months.
Existing examples: Take your pick from challenge-based apps like Tynker to more-freeform apps like ScratchJr, with new entrants like CodeQuest and The Foos too.
6. Rise of the robots and 3D printing
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How many children will have access to modern robots or 3D printers at home in 2015? Very few indeed. But there are some technology startups and app developers hoping their products will be an introduction to these areas for children in the year ahead.
US startup Play-i will ship its Bo and Yana spherical robots in 2015 for example, having crowdfunded their first run on its website last year. They’ll come with an app that aims to teach children to program the bots. Elsewhere in hardware, we’ll see what happens next with the Kano computer, as well as startups like Osmo exploring physical toys and apps.
Meanwhile, on the 3D printing side, there are a number of companies working on apps that will get children to create… things, and then get them printed. It’ll be an expensive niche for now, but the idea of digital creation leading to physical objects has wider applications for kids: whether it’s 3D printing or print-out papercraft.
Existing examples: On the 3D printing side, My Little Monster makes children’s digital beasties into real models, complete with Apple Pay support in the US.
7. YouTube filters and other video apps
Children’s videos are massive on YouTube, as a glance at the charts for its most popular channels will tell you: DC Toys Collector, Stampy and Little Baby Bum are all fixtures in the top 10 for the entire site. Yet as a parent, YouTube can still be problematic when your children are watching it: if you’re not breathing down their neck throughout, it’s easy to end up on inappropriate videos.
In 2015, we’re going to see more attempts to provide child-friendly filters on YouTube as apps, whether focusing on particular niches like nursery rhymes or Minecraft, or more general curators. Plus more of those YouTube channels will launch their own apps, aiming for a slot on parents’ homescreens, and the growth of Angry Birds’ ToonsTV – four billion views and counting – will continue.
Existing examples: Stampy Cat is the official app for Stampy’s Minecraft-focused YouTube channel, while Hopster mixes familiar TV shows with educational games.
8. Next moves for Minecraft
Minecraft as the world’s most popular game for children isn’t a trend of 2015: it’s a long-established fact. But what happens now, with the game’s developer Mojang owned by Microsoft, is going to be very interesting.
Expect more attempts to make educational use of Minecraft, from YouTubers like Stampy – who’s about to launch a second, learning-focused channel – to educational groups and museums. But also watch for more children’s brands doing stuff in and around Minecraft, and children coming up with their own mods that find a wider audience.Advertisement
Existing examples: The Beano’s official Dennis and Gnasher mod is good fun, while the Tate Worlds project takes a more artistic approach. And the LearnToMod software aims to teach kids to code through Minecraft too.
9. Making a noise through musical apps
There is something potentially very powerful – and largely untapped so far – about tablets, music and children. Not as replacements for learning traditional instruments, but as tools for musical creativity in other ways: interacting with music or creating it from scratch.
This may not always be in apps specifically for children – my seven year-old son discovered GarageBand over Christmas, and we’ve had great fun recording songs together. Again, apps aren’t a replacement for instruments, but there’s a lot more fun to come from them as new ways to explore rhythm and melody.
best apps for 12 year olds 2021
You’ll find a wide variety here, excellent apps that appeal to a range of preteen interests, backgrounds, and even moods. This list has some interesting apps and games for tweens and preteens. With more younger kids using smartphones or smart devices, which brings us to this app list – our best apps for 10 to 12 year-olds, curated by a panel of experts.
Leo AR Education
Leo AR Education
Leo AR Education – 4 Star Certified App
Leo AR Education is one of the best app for 10 year olds. The app lets you add AR graphics, stickers, music, text and more to your videos from the comfort of home. Leo is easy to use, fun and one of the best augmented reality apps for kids on the market.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
ARC Maths
ARC Maths
ARC Maths – 5 Star Certified App
ARC Maths is an easy to use, student-friendly app that helps you remember all of the key skills you need to be successful at secondary Maths. Arc Maths app covers maths content taught between the ages 11-16 and includes all content within the GCSE syllabus across most exam boards. ARC Maths works closely with the user identifying gaps in mathematical knowledge resulting in a bespoke effective learning programme.
Age: 11+
Devices: iPhone, iPad
FunEasyLearn – Learn Languages
FunEasyLearn – Learn Languages
FunEasyLearn – Learn Languages – 5 Star Certified App
FunEasyLearn app was an interactive, language-learning app gradually guides the user through the study of a language – be it new or limited to a specific topic for focus. The variety of languages on offer is hugely impressive, ranging from Spanish, French, Italian, German, English, Chinese, up to 34 languages in total. The app is geared at regular interval learning, whereby little and often’ will reap the greatest rewards, with each language to be studied broken down into various, easy-to-navigate topics and sub topics.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
MentalUP Educational Games
MentalUP Educational Games
MentalUP Educational Games – 5 Star Certified App
MentalUP Educational Games are suitable for all children of any age, and also it is really fun for 10-12-year-old children. It contains dozens of games and different difficulty levels for each game. It’s among the learning games for 10-year-olds and improves visual recognition, and visual attention.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
codeSpark Academy
CodeSpark Academy
codeSpark Academy – 4 Star Certified App
With the STEM movement on the rise, kids have opportunities to learn new skills in fun ways. For example, CodeSpark Academy is a coding game app that teaches kids how to code. The app empowers young thinkers to become makers as kids learn to create their own stories and games.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
Marble Math
Marble Math
Marble Math – 5 Star Certified App
Marble Math makes practicing math fun for kids. Marble Math is one of the most fun, customizable, and effective math games available for older elementary school-age kids. Marble Math is an engaging, sticky way for kids to practice math skills. Marble Math gives kids who enjoy puzzle games an engaging and entertaining way to get the practice and repetition that they need to hone and sharpen their math skills.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
Words Master
Words Master
Words Master – 4 Star Certified App
Words Master is a fun learning game for 10-year-olds that encourages them to compete against themselves to get as high a score as is possible. Technically there is not limit to high a score that a user could get meaning that someone using the app could continually use it and keep improving on their best score. This word game helps children focus on sounds and letters, and develop skills they need for reading, writing, and spelling.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
Infinite Arcade
Infinite Arcade
Kids and tweens alike can create their own games in the Infinite Arcade by Tinybop. More than simple arcade fun, this game creator is a powerful learning tool because kids define problems, develop possible solutions, test the game, and then come back to make improvements.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
Photomath
Photomath
Photomath – 5 Star Certified App
Photomath is a resource that kids can use to solve mathematical problems. Photomath Camera Calculator uses augmented reality, which means that you can simply point your camera at any piece of paper with an equation or an arithmetic problem and it will find a solution.
Age: 11+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
Piano Marvel – Piano Lessons
Piano Marvel – Piano Lessons
Piano Marvel – Piano Lessons – 5 Star Certified App
Piano Marvel helps students engage with and learn how to play the piano. There are video lessons on the app, that help teach you the basics of piano method and technique. There is an excellent library of music covering a wide repertoire in several genres. Each piece is categorised at a level – beginner, intermediate, advanced and professional with many pieces available in several levels of difficulty.
Age: 11+
Devices: iPad
Accomplish Reading
Accomplish Reading
Accomplish Reading – 5 Star Certified App
Accomplish Reading has been created to help tweens to improve their reading comprehension. After reading a number of sentences children are asked to agree or disagree as to whether the sentence makes sense. The whole point of the app and the process of re-reading is to teach children the importance of re-reading sentences to gain an understanding and improvement on reading comprehension. The app also provides personalised feedback and progress reports for each of the children on the app.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
Student Success
Student Success: wellbeing, learning, exam prep
Student Success – 5 Star Certified App
Parents and teachers should have an awareness of each learner’s mindset and how they are coping mentally. If your child or your student could use direction, guidance, and strategies for handling stress and anxiety, you should take a look at Student Success.
Age: 12+
Devices: Android
Ella Spanish Verbs Conjugation
Ella Spanish Verbs Conjugation
Ella Spanish Verbs Conjugation – 5 Star Certified App
Ella Spanish Verbs Conjugation is a language learning app that comprehensively enables learners to see, practise, interact with and, subsequently, understand a wide variety of verbs across all tenses and moods. The verbal content can be customised to complement the extent of the user’s understanding of Spanish verbs: by refining the tenses, moods, verb forms, and indeed the verbs to be studied themselves. It allows personalised quizzing and progress tracking as a means to facilitate and refine learning.
Age: 11+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
National Geographic
National Geographic
National Geographic – 4 Star Certified App
National Geographic app dives deep into over 3,000 captivating videos, groundbreaking stories, and unlimited access to award-winning photography. For the first time, access to rich National Geographic content is available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
Age: 11+
Devices:iPhone, iPad
Dyslexia Gold
Dyslexia Gold
Dyslexia Gold – 5 Star Certified App
Dyslexia Gold improves reading fluency, speed and comprehension. It increases reading age by over 12 months. Their fun, effective & unique programs help children learn to improve: Reading with Engaging Eyes and Fluency Builder, master Spelling and Times Tables. The program is suitable for children aged 10-15. You can choose US or UK spelling and works on any PC or laptop with sound – Windows or Mac. Dyslexia Gold is used in over 250 schools and by thousands of parents.
Age: 10+
Devices: Web browsers, Windows, Mac
StudyGe – World map geography
StudyGe – World map geography
StudyGe – World map geography – 5 Star Certified App
Become a master at identifying countries on a map, matching capitals to countries, and identifying flags with StudyGE. With crystal-clear maps, excellent reporting features, and some reference content, Study GE is a superb tool to have in a Geography teacher’s app collection. Future expansions are expected too.
Age: 10+
Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad
Read More: Recommended list of apps for teens.
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