By Children’s Librarian Eileen
Experts at the Educational Development Center say that digital media can help young children make sense of their world, especially when screen time is facilitated and guided by parents or caregivers.
Below, you will find screen time guidelines for parents and caregivers of children aged 2-6, as well as findings and recommendations for digital content suitable for early learners, with a focus on educational apps.
Screen time limits & guidelines
While screen time limits and guidelines can vary for older children and teens, the American Academy of Pediatrics offers clear screen time recommendations for young children. Parents and caregivers should:
- Engage with their children ages 2-5 when using digital media to help them make connections to the world around them and enhance their learning.
- Limit screen time to one hour a day for children ages 2-5 and less than an hour for children under 2, and only when an adult is available to co-view, talk, and interact with them.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends establishing a personalized Healthy Family Media Use Plan, tailored to the ages, needs, and interests of each family member.
How to select apps
According to the experts at the Education Development Center, digital media is most beneficial when it “is developmentally appropriate, targets important school readiness concepts and skills, encourages active learning, and is paired with hands-on science activities.”
Focus on apps and games that support specific goals—such as problem-solving, expressing and understanding emotions, developing early literacy skills, and fine motor skills. Look for apps that share the following features:
- Unique experiences
- Open-ended with limits (automatic stops to pause the game)
- Engaging, but not distracting
- Encourage interaction
These research findings and recommendations underscore the importance of continually evaluating and exploring digital resources to expand children’s learning opportunities.
Our app recommendations
We’ve done our own research to find high quality educational apps for early learners. Here is a short list of some apps we recommended for children ages 2-6:
AlphaTots Alphabet by Little 10 Robot
$2.99 iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
Easy to navigate, fun app for early learners, designed to help young children learn the alphabet through engaging, interactive elements.
Bedtime Math by Bedtime Math Foundation Inc.
Free iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
Stress-free, pressure-free math talk app for kids and caregivers, designed to make math fun and interactive for families.
Breath, Think, Do with Sesame Street by Sesame Workshop
Free iOS, Android
Research-based bilingual (English and Spanish) app, teaching kids emotional regulation, problem-solving, and calming techniques.
Busy Shapes & Colors by Edoki Academy
$2.99 iOS
This intuitive app—designed to help children learn their shapes and colors—offers a fun, motivating digital playground to build problem-solving skills.
Endless ABC by Originator
$8.99 iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
An entertaining and interactive educational app to help kids learn their letters and sounds and build vocabulary with colorful animations and games.
Khan Academy Kids by Khan Academy
Free: iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
This comprehensive and highly interactive early learning app offers a wealth of engaging activities to help young children learn about letters, numbers, colors, measurement, science, health, kindergarten readiness skills, and more.
Lightbot Jr by SpriteBox LLC
$2.99 iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
A simplified colorful puzzle game version of Lightbot for kids as young as 4, offering a solid introduction to coding and programming logic.
The Human Body by Tinybop
$3.99 iOS, Android
A highly rated, interactive app for kids to explore human anatomy and biology—like how the heart beats, lungs breath, and guts gurgle—offering fun sound effects and a colorful, creative design.
Thinkrolls 2 by Avokiddo Ltd.
$5.99 iOS, Android, Kindle Fire
An engaging, science-focused app designed with logic puzzles to help kids build critical thinking, creativity, and physics understanding through play. While both easy and hard modes are offered, the easy mode is designed for ages 3-5.
If you like an app, search by the app developer in the app store to find even more great apps. For more app recommendations, check out our updated librarian-curated list of digital apps and tools for early learners.
About Eileen
Eileen Saam is a children’s digital learning librarian who loves discovering new things, learning from others, and sharing with children the joy and wonder of books. One of her favorite things to do at the library is to help children, families, and teachers find books and digital resources that delight and inspire them.