Crazy Cooking Chef
With junk food available on every street, it’s never been more important for children to get to grips with home cooking and proper nutrition. Crazy Cooking Chef helps tweens develop creativity in the (virtual) kitchen with different dishes and ingredients, letting them run their own restaurant and make meals from scratch. The more they hone their skills, the better and more popular their restaurant becomes.
Good for parents because … The next thing you know, they’ll be cooking up a storm in the family kitchen (just make sure they clean up afterwards).
Good for kids because … It’s a fun game with real-world applications, as they begin to learn how to fend for themselves.
Jiggle Watts
If your teen liked Candy Crush, they’ll love Jiggle Watts. With more than 90 fun-filled levels, this addictive puzzle game will keep them busy and out of trouble for hours at a time. The premise is simple: connect the matching Jiggle Watts as they fall from the sky, matching three or more to trigger explosive chain reactions and earn supercharged power-ups, all while watching out for the evil S’morasaurus.
Good for parents because … Long car journeys with a grumpy teen will be quieter than ever.
Good for kids because … It’s the perfect mix of simple-yet-challenging. They’ll never be bored.
monqi
If you want to give your tween a sense of freedom while ensuring they’re safe, get them the “Mumsnet Rated” Verve Connect IMO S2 (pictured, left) with monqi OS, then put the monqi app on your phone. Pair the two and you’ll be able to quickly find out where they are and what they’re up to. You’ll also be able to manage apps and the amount of time spent on them, approve contacts, lock the phone during school and at night, chat securely via the app, and more.
Good for parents because … It’s an easy, catch-all way to keep an eye on your freedom-hungry child.
Good for kids because … Their internet and IRL safety is ensured, and their sense of autonomy intact.
Amazon Kindle
Few image-conscious teens in the playground will turn to paperbacks to give their social credibility a boost. And that’s where the Kindle reader comes in. They can browse everything from free classic novels to the latest titles, all the while looking like they could just be texting their other, much cooler friends. Plus, some of those books they’re reading could even be textbooks.
Good for parents because … Anything that makes reading books more palatable in the digital age is to be welcomed.
Good for kids because … They can carry as many books as they want and read in private.
Life360
This app helps keep families abreast of each other’s schedules, without the endless “where are you?” texts. Open the app and immediately locate your family on a private map. So, whether you’re working out what time your teen needs picking up or when dinner needs to be on the table, it’s an easy, secure way to ensure everyone is safe and where they should be.
Good for parents because … The whole family schedule can be made visible in one place.
Good for kids because … They won’t feel suffocated, but will feel reassured knowing where you are without having to ask.
YouTube Kids
Your kids probably already spend more time watching YouTube videos than anything else online – whether they’re into vloggers, videogamers or funny cat videos – and this child-friendly version of the app is pretty much the same deal on the face of it. Where it differs, however, is that as parents you can handpick the videos, channels and collections of channels your child sees, limit their access to potentially unsavoury content, or block it altogether. You can also set a timer to regulate how long your children can spend on the app.
Good for parents because … Reducing the risk of your child stumbling upon offensive content will give you peace of mind.
Good for kids because … It’s the same YouTube they already know and love, just sanitised.
All apps available on Android and iOS, and at the monqi jungle store.
Visit Tesco Mobile to find out more about the IMO S2 with monqi
