We can all agree that it is nearly impossible to keep our children away from mobile devices in this day and age. All young parents know that nothing amuses a toddler more than a mobile screen. Thus, using screen time wisely can help them learn about the world much before their formal education begins. Research by the American Academy of Paediatrics concludes that play is crucial to development because it enhances children's and adolescents' cognitive, physical, social, and emotional health.

The apps for toddlers on this list are the ideal balance of learning and play. If you're searching for a way to improve some of your toddler's literacy and numeracy skills without making them sit down to study, we recommend checking out these apps.

Here is our list of the top five apps for curious toddlers:

• ABCMouse 

ABCMouse is an online learning application that focuses on offering educational and age-appropriate content for children ages 2 to 8. It provides a step-by-step curriculum created by teachers and educational experts and has more than 10,000 exercises that cover multiple subjects. The content includes puzzles, games, art activities, songs, and printable materials that are related to math, science, art, etc. Additionally, it has a progress tracker that helps track children's development so that parents can see how far they've come. Apart from educational activities, this app features interactive farms, interactive zoos, and interactive aquariums where kids can engage with the animals and fish and learn interesting facts about them. 

• Fish School by Duck Duck Moose

Fish School is an early learning app designed for toddlers with an amazing interface. It gives a playful underwater experience with 8 educational activities. These include playing games and finding similarities and differences. It teaches colours, numbers, alphabets, and shapes interactively. For example, when a toddler selects a swimming fish of the color red, they will find the whole ocean filled with red-coloured fish. This app has won the Parent’s Choice Gold Award and the Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award. Children find it amusing to watch colorful fish form different shapes, such as numbers and alphabets, and it helps them learn them while they are playing.

• Monkey Preschool Lunchbox

Monkey Preschool has seven exciting educational activities with clear directions and an intuitive touch interface for preschoolers. Children can learn basic literacy and math while helping a monkey pack a lunch box. This app provides excellent foundational skills for children by teaching them letters, colours, shapes, counting, differences, and matching through the use of a cute animated monkey. Apart from lending a hand, it also celebrates kids' achievements, which gives them an amazing feeling of progress and mastery. Moreover, monkey preschoolers keep things lighthearted. They allow children to know when they have made a mistake and provide them with the flexibility to make it right. 

• Trucks 

Trucks is an educational and creative play app for toddlers that teaches cognitive skills like problem-solving, sequencing, and sorting. It has won the Parents’ Choice Silver Award and the Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award. There are five different engaging activities included in this game: carwashing, operating a garbage truck, towing a car and changing a flat tire, moving dirt with a dump truck, and participating in a car and truck parade. This app provides an opportunity for kids to learn about garbage, recycling, and dumping trash in the right trash can. Trucks is simple yet fun; once the kids are shown how to play each scene, then they can do every task independently. It also helps toddlers develop imaginary skills.

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a pop-up storybook with eight engaging games for toddlers. It teaches nonfictional scientific and nature content, like wild animals, insects, and marine life. The brain game challenges in this game are appropriate for preschoolers, like assisting the bear to find her cub and helping the caterpillar eat healthy fruits and avoid sweet snacks. It also teaches sorting, counting, and building mazes. Each scene of this game begins with an informative overview of an animal and its life cycle, what it eats, its characteristics, etc. It is simple for young children to follow along because the text is read by a narrator.

Parents won't have to worry about inappropriate content or advertisements because these educational apps provide a safe environment with no external links. They are the best tools to improve toddlers' brain development, encourage their early learning, and improve their cognitive skills. However, parental guidance and judgment are required at all times while exposing young children to technology. Read all reviews and comments on an app to understand the pros and cons before exposing your child to any online content! After all, no one is a better teacher than a parent!