photo credit: whiteafrican

Computers used to be reserved for grown-ups. They weren’t kid-friendly. But today, computer games for toddlers have revolutionized the ways your child learns and has fun! You don’t want to just pick a game based on a character your child loves – or the price tag.

Pick a toddler game for the computer that your little one will be able to play without help from you. Many parents simply go by the age on the box, never looking to see if their child is ready for certain skills required to play the game. The result is that your toddler gets frustrated and you feel as if you’ve just wasted money.

Computer games for toddlers should be very easy – to the point of point and click. You don’t want them to have to spell out long words or navigate a complicated strategy to succeed with the game.

Visual graphics are also important when you’re choosing the right computer game for your tiny tot. It’s not all about characters – they want bold colors, easy instructions and levels to see when they’ve “won” at the game.

Many companies have in-store systems that allow you to take a test drive of the actual game before you buy it for your child. At the very least, the company should have a comprehensive set of screen shots that you can see so that you’ll know what the game play consist of.

Keep an eye out for inappropriate content such as risqué clothing or violent battle scenes. You want simple computer games for toddlers that are age-appropriate such as puzzles, hide and seek, and learning concepts using letters and numbers.
Some Great Online resources for Computer games I have found:

• PBSKids.org
• Review of Sesame Street Games Online
  
• Noggin

Some other Computer/Video Games to check out:

• Leap Frog Leapster Learning Game System – Great Video Game system to take with you places and has wonderful learning games you can buy for it.  Both my kids (3 & 6) have it.  It has great built in games for coloring, and math skills.  I love the Letters on the loose game I got for my 6 year old.  It’s great practice for writing letters.  I also really like the Cars game and the Nemo game.
• There are a variety of Educational games for the PC, some good ones are Dora the Explorer, BackPack and Lost City Adventure, Thomas and Friends Special Delivery. Arthur’s Computer Adventure