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A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

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Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#141

Post by femto »

evilduck wrote: post #111
spoiledtechie wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My nine month old, started playing with my phone at 2 months old. We let her play with pictures and she LOVES the xylophone app along with the Piano app. I think you will find it much different reality than you actually think.

Similar story, my 14 month old mocks everything we do. If I knock on a door, he knocks on the door, if I sneeze, he'll try to make a sneeze sound, if I fold laundry, well...he'll unfold it and scatter it on the floor, but you get the idea. But since we use the phone, he wants to use the phone, there's no avoiding it. I don't see the big issue, it's something in his environment that he's curious about. It's not a dire…

Our 17 month old is similarly into imitation. Kids have fantastic imaginations. Our 17 month old couldn't care whether it is a phone or an old cardboard box that he is holding up to his ear. The advantage of a cardboard box is that it seamlessly transforms into a car or a ball on demand!

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#142

Post by mwidarto »

jes5199 wrote: post #131
JeremiahNunn wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are ways to do in-app purchases for kid apps that aren't unethical. In fact, allowing people to try your app before buying it is a very ethical thing to do. Don't limit yourself unnecessarily, and don't assume kid apps with iAP must be from shady developers.

I know you feel like everyone is being unreasonable about this, but instead of trying to change their minds, consider it market research: parents on hacker news overwhelmingly distrust iAP, and maybe that means some other form of try-before-you-buy would be more appropriate for kids' apps.

I believe windows phone market place and android allow you to do some sort of trial but I don't think you can do that in apple app store. I'm not 100% sure about this so please correct me if I am wrong.

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#143

Post by mwidarto »

JeremiahNunn wrote: post #115
mwidarto wrote: post #94

I develop an educational app geared for kids and just like some of the people here. I dislike ads, in app purchase, external link etc so I made sure that my app doesn't have any of those and price it at $0.99. I keep updating it based on user feedback to make the app better. It's good to read that there are a lot of parent here that say they won't purchase any app with ads and/or inapp purchases for their kids but I…

There are ways to do in-app purchases for kid apps that aren't unethical. In fact, allowing people to try your app before buying it is a very ethical thing to do. Don't limit yourself unnecessarily, and don't assume kid apps with iAP must be from shady developers.

You are correct. There are a lot of kid apps with iAP that offer great value such as additional levels etc. I purchased some my self. It's the smurfberry kind of iAP that I don't like.

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#144

Post by delsarto »

seclorum wrote: post #31

I really, really, really wish there was some way to disable the Home button on my iPad. My 19-month old and 4-year old kids, who absolutely love to sit with me and play with the iPad, simply find it irresistible to press that button. And when we're watching a movie, its a sure-fire way to ruin the whole experience. If it were lockable so that it didn't do anything, they wouldn't press it. Come to think of it, the sli…

Check out the "bubcap", it's a hard band-aid like thing that you stick over the button, and it stops little fingers from pushing it but allows adults to still work it.

http://papercliprobot.com/

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#145

Post by twelvechairs »

veidr wrote: post #48

I'm curious: don't any other people here think 2-year-old kids shouldn't be playing iPad games at all ? I'm convinced that watching TV is harmful to a child's intellectual development. (And there's an established body of evidence to support that.) As a kid, I hated my hippie Montessori teacher mom for allowing me only one hour of TV per week as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s (elementary school; I usually chose t…

> I'm convinced that watching TV is harmful to a child's intellectual development

Is the TV having a negative impact? Or is the child just suffering because they arent having a positive impact from other experiences? I think an hour or so in front of a good educational (in the broad sense) TV show, game or iPad app could be great, but repeated days with no other stimulation/interaction is the real problem.

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#146

Post by Revisor »

megablast wrote: post #101
ajlburke wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With my diary app Remembary, I occasionally get empty emails submitted from the app's "Support Email" button in the help popover. The "?" button, the "Support Email" button, and the popup email's "Send" button are all in the top right part of the screen, so my best guess is that it's people's children tapping repeatedly in the top right area of the iPad. Good thing I don't have anything particularly destructive up th…

Occasionally? I get over 100 empty emails a day with nothing in them. I guess people get confused about the discard button, because my apps are not targeted at kids. Over 70% of my emails are empty. Maybe a small puzzle before you can send me a message is in order.

Why do you even let the user send an empty email? Sounds like a programming error as much as a UI blunder.

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#147

Post by wiredfool »

veidr wrote: post #48

I'm curious: don't any other people here think 2-year-old kids shouldn't be playing iPad games at all ? I'm convinced that watching TV is harmful to a child's intellectual development. (And there's an established body of evidence to support that.) As a kid, I hated my hippie Montessori teacher mom for allowing me only one hour of TV per week as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s (elementary school; I usually chose t…

You know, iPads are awesome for kids. You know why?

2 yr olds can't pull the key caps off of them.

(unlike, say, macbook pros.)

So, I've got three, from 2.5 to 7.5. They've seen mommy and daddy working with computers and ipads all their life. (well, ipads for the last 2 years). No tv. Minimal netflix. A little screen time for other stuff, maybe a couple hours a week. Their latest thing is downloading lego instructions and reviewing them to see how stuff goes together, and to see if they have enough parts to build some of the sets we haven't bought.

The third one has gotten a lot more screen time than the other two at their ages, just because he's got to do what the big boys are doing. He's only twigged on to what a mouse does in the last couple of months, because the ipad is so much more direct. If the touch screen doesn't work, then it's a broken computer. It's strange seeing that distinction so differently between the kids, as the older ones didn't get the whole touch screen thing till they were much older.

There's a lot of interesting observations you can make about UI when you're watching someone with a much different POV than you have.

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#148

Post by wiredfool »

tylermenezes wrote: post #114
veidr wrote: post #48

I'm curious: don't any other people here think 2-year-old kids shouldn't be playing iPad games at all ? I'm convinced that watching TV is harmful to a child's intellectual development. (And there's an established body of evidence to support that.) As a kid, I hated my hippie Montessori teacher mom for allowing me only one hour of TV per week as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s (elementary school; I usually chose t…

As a hacker, I'm sure you know, ideals are often different than what actually happens. I often see kids in restaurants. Half of them are screechy. The other half have something to play with. Usually iPads or iPhones, because they're easy to carry, and don't get boring. They're not a choking hazard and won't cut you. Sure, you might like the idea of keeping them away from video games, but it's probably not going to wo…

You see my kids on a plane, and I've probably deployed the i devices. Waaaay more freely than they get at home. It's a treat, and it can work well in reasonably sized doses.

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#149

Post by PostOnce »

veidr wrote: post #48

I'm curious: don't any other people here think 2-year-old kids shouldn't be playing iPad games at all ? I'm convinced that watching TV is harmful to a child's intellectual development. (And there's an established body of evidence to support that.) As a kid, I hated my hippie Montessori teacher mom for allowing me only one hour of TV per week as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s (elementary school; I usually chose t…

I'm thinking my kids won't use any tech until they can read. What good does it do them otherwise, anyway? As a toy for a few minutes, perhaps. I think people use tv/ipad/etc as a way to avoid having to interact with their kids for long periods of time. That's how it works for a lot of people I know.

Time spent on an iPad by a 2-4 year old is time spent not learning more important things.

Re: A Dad’s Plea To Developers Of iPad Apps For Children

#150

Post by teyc »

thibaut_barrere wrote: post #60
veidr wrote: post #48

I'm curious: don't any other people here think 2-year-old kids shouldn't be playing iPad games at all ? I'm convinced that watching TV is harmful to a child's intellectual development. (And there's an established body of evidence to support that.) As a kid, I hated my hippie Montessori teacher mom for allowing me only one hour of TV per week as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s (elementary school; I usually chose t…

My son (4yo) barely watches TV (maybe one hour a week or so) but spends a good amount of time on the iPad. There's a wide range of activities on the iPad, going from plain video games to pure learning bits (letters, sounds, cooking, 3d moves etc) which makes it much more interesting than only "video games" IMO (and this generates a lot of discussions centered around learning too!). On the frequency of use: it's prett…

I've been revising my attitudes towards TV lately. There's good content on the TV, while content on iPad is not necessarily getting any better - mostly addictive games that bide the player to come back again and again. BBC produces a lot of accessible programs about engineering, history.
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