The 5 Best iPhone Apps to Keep Your Children Busy

Here is the scenario: you are in the grocery store, standing in line with a week of food and supplies for your family. The person in front of you has gotten enough in their cart to either feed their own family for a month, or perhaps just a small army for a couple of days. But what is worse is they have old fashioned coupons for every other item, and they are rifling through an envelope at the speed of a turtle taking a slow walk.

Your child has been very patient thus far, enjoying the ride around in the front of the cart and playing with your keys that you thrust into their hand when this wait began. But they are beginning to get fussy, as children tend to, and you just know tears are on the horizon. This is causing no small amount of stress, as everyone knows how horrible your child crying in public is, and you can almost feel the burn of those future stares from judgmental patrons and staff.

What do you do? Thanks to your iPhone, you keep them busy with any of the interactive and entertaining apps they have available for you to download from the iTunes store.

While there are dozens of apps to choose from in this category, here are what I think are five of the very best, and all for $0.99 or under.

Wheels On The Bus
This great app from the folks at Duck Duck Moose is a great interactive song program for toddlers. It plays the original "Wheels on the Bus" with a visual aid, that lets your child sing along.

It has ten versus, so it can get repetitive. But that is just what a child that age loves, and it will be sure to keep them busy for awhile.
Jirbo Match

Jirbo Match
A basic match game, your child uses the touch screen to turn over different cards that have the faces of animals like monkeys, cows and dogs.

You match up the pairs and they stay that way while your child works through the different combinations. Simple and classic, and sure to delight any child.

Balloonimals
If your kid is still in the stage where they drool more than they speak, you might want to hold off on this one. But otherwise, it is a fantastic game for the little ones.

Your child blows into the microphone section of the iPhone, and it shows a balloon blowing up with each breath. Then, they shake the iPhone and it creates balloon animals and objects, like dinosaurs, sheep and more. Then, they move and make noise, until you pop them with a finger.

Shapes Toddler Preschool
A very educational game, your toddler can learn all about shapes using this app. They will learn about each shape using an interactive game, flashcards and quizzes. Each has a full voice over to explain in the simplest detail what everything is.

It uses positive reinforcement and little rewards to make them proud of their learning. This one gets a high approval rating from many preschool teachers and parents alike.

Peekaboo Barn
Similar to those lift-tab storyboard books that little kids adore, this app is an interactive game that let's your child explore a barn to find various animals, such as cows, chickens and sheep. It is fairly basic, with cartoons, sounds and a written version of each word. Which makes it nice and simple for them to use and enjoy.

Chances are, you have a couple of apps your children enjoy. What are some of your (and their) favorites? Let us know in the comments.

Jessy is a lifestyle blogger for Broadband Plan Finder, the free app to compare broadband plans in Australia.