As moms, we’ve all wrestled with the “screen time guilt.” While it’s tempting to wish for a screen-free childhood for our kids, the truth is that in today’s tech-filled world, avoiding screens altogether isn’t always realistic. But what is realistic, and even beneficial, is being intentional about the kind of screen time we allow.
There’s a big difference between passive screen time (think: endless YouTube videos or mindless scrolling) and active screen time, where kids are engaged, thinking creatively, and problem-solving. If you’re a millennial parent, you probably remember spending hours playing Webkinz, designing your Disney Channel avatar, or mastering your Nintendogs on your DS—and believe it or not, research now supports what our nostalgic hearts already knew: Age-appropriate video games can actually support cognitive development and creativity.
As moms doing our best to steer clear of mindless tablet time, we’ve come to embrace apps and online games that feel like modern-day versions of what I loved as a kid—tools that encourage curiosity, emotional development, and imagination. Below are 11 of our favorite online games and apps for kids that are fun, parent-approved, and rooted in active learning.
Wendy
Ages: 4-10
How it works: Wendy is an interactive app available on both iPad and iPhone that helps kids use their imaginations to build their own stories while learning about emotions along the way. Through choose-your-own-adventure-style audio clips, kids are guided through playful, engaging scenarios—like riding on a rocket ship or exploring a jungle—that also weave in gentle lessons about feelings, confidence, and empathy. With every choice they make, kids shape the story, giving them a sense of agency and creativity.
Why we love it: Wendy makes emotional learning feel like a game—kids are having fun while building critical life skills. We love that it encourages creative thinking and gives kids the chance to explore big feelings in a safe, empowering way. It’s thoughtful, imaginative, and exactly the kind of screen time that supports growing minds. Plus, right now, you can use code WENDYFOREVERYMOM to get your first month free!
Disney Coloring World
Ages: 6-8+
How it works: This coloring app lets kids color their favorite Disney and Pixar characters—from Elsa to Buzz Lightyear—and then watch them come to life in a 3D interactive world. Kids can also build and explore their own Disney scenes using the characters they’ve colored.
Why we love it: It feels like a digital version of the coloring books we all grew up with—but even more immersive. It gives little ones a creative outlet while keeping them engaged in a safe, ad-free space.
PBS KIDS Games
Ages: 0-5+
How it works: This app brings together dozens of educational games featuring beloved PBS characters like Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts, and Elinor Wonders Why. Each game is designed to teach skills in reading, math, science, and more for preschool and early elementary-age kids.
Why we love it: It’s free, educational, and completely age-appropriate—aka the screen time trifecta. As a bonus, it’s backed by PBS, a longtime trusted name in early childhood education.
LEGO DUPLO World
Ages: 0-5+
How it works: This interactive app is designed for toddlers and preschoolers to explore and build with digital DUPLO blocks. It features themed play packs (like farms, trains, and underwater adventures) that support early math, reasoning, and motor skills.
Why we love it: It brings the hands-on fun of LEGO building into a digital format that still feels creative and tactile without the physical mess involved. Plus, it’s developed with input from child development experts to ensure it’s making screen time a positive, growing experience.
Toca Boca Jr
Ages: 0-5+
How it works: Toca Boca Jr is a collection of open-ended games that let kids explore everything from cooking to hairstyling to running a hospital. The games are designed to spark imagination and offer endless “what if” scenarios without any set rules or goals.
Why we love it: It’s screen time that encourages pretend play and storytelling, two things we’d never say no to. It’s also refreshingly gender-neutral, ad-free, and very intuitive for little hands and developing minds.
A Kid’s Diary by Tinybop
Ages: 6-8+
How it works: This award-winning app invites kids to reflect on their thoughts, feelings, and identity through creative journaling prompts, drawings, and voice recordings. It’s geared toward kids right in the sweet spot of when they’re starting to learn how to understand and communicate their feelings, and emphasizes emotional intelligence and self-awareness.
Why we love it: It gives kids a safe, private space to explore their inner world—like a modern diary with interactive flair. As parents, we love anything that helps our kids build emotional vocabulary and confidence.
Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings
Ages: 0-5+
How it works: Through music, games, and storytelling, this app helps young kids recognize and express emotions. Children can create feeling faces, play the feelings song, and even draw or record how they’re feeling in the moment.
Why we love it: Daniel Tiger is a goldmine for social-emotional learning, and this app takes that to the next level. It’s a screen time option that actually supports real-life emotional skills—big win.
Epic: Ebooks
Ages: 6-8+
How it works: Epic is a digital library offering thousands of books, audiobooks, and learning videos covering a huge range of topics. The app adapts to each child’s reading level and interests, making it easy for them to fall in love with reading at their own pace and with focuses they actually care about.
Why we love it: It’s a fantastic way to turn screen time into story time, especially for reluctant readers or kids who love visuals. It’s also great for traveling or waiting rooms—just bring headphones!
Osmo
Ages: 5-10+
How it works: Osmo combines physical play with digital learning through a unique tablet base and interactive game pieces. With games that teach math, spelling, coding, and drawing, Osmo makes screen time more hands-on, collaborative, and intentional.
Why we love it: It bridges the gap between tech and tactile learning. If you’re looking for something screen-based that still feels educational and playful, Osmo is 100% what you’re in the market for.
FunBrain
Ages: 5-10
How it works: FunBrain offers a wide variety of educational games for preschool through middle school ages, with subjects ranging from math, reading, logic, and more, all disguised as fun, bright games to keep your LOs focused and attentive.
Why we love it: It’s the perfect mix of nostalgia and learning—think the digital equivalent of our old-school computer lab favorites. Plus, no downloads required!
National Geographic Games
Ages: 6-14+
How it works: This free site offers dozens of interactive games that teach kids about animals, geography, space, and the environment. The games are paired with real-world Nat Geo photography and facts to make learning feel like a fun adventure rather than a boring PowerPoint.
Why we love it: It feeds kids’ natural curiosity and love for discovery. If your child is constantly asking “why,” this is the kind of screen time that fuels that spark.
McKenna Pringle, Branded Content Editoral Assistant
As the Branded Content Editorial Assistant, McKenna collaborates with our sales team by creating both written and social media content, collecting and analyzing performance data to report back to our partners, and assisting our editors with their everyday tasks to ensure a smooth and productive process.
This post contains a sponsored inclusion of Wendy, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everymom editorial board.
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Source link: https://theeverymom.com/best-kids-apps-positive-screen-time/ by McKenna Pringle at theeverymom.com