The digital equivalents of colouring books and games are the latest on-the-go pacifiers.
Three-year-old Vihaan simply did not have the patience to be strapped into his baby seat, while his parents tucked in burgers at a local fast-food joint in Mumbai. Just as the toddler threatened to throw another tantrum, his father whipped out his Apple iPhone and handed it to him.
Swiftly, Vihaan’s experienced fingers navigated their way to the Coloring Book app, which provides an interactive colouring activity, on the phone. Captivated, the little one sat quietly while his parents finished their meal in peace.
Where puzzles, books and analog toys fail, iPhone and similar smartphone platforms have become the latest on-the-go pacifier for new-age and tech-savvy parents. Mobile applications or apps are small portable programmes that run on mobile phones, broadly classified under educational, entertainment, game and music categories.
“Parents with full-time jobs and a household to run sometimes don’t have the luxury to sit down at home and spend quality time with their kids. So, it is good to have some interactive learning through the third screen,” says Vihaan’s father.
Alok Kejriwal, CEO of Games2Win, has no qualms about giving an iPod Touch to his 13-year-old daughter. “As long as I control how much my girls spend on buying apps, which is up to $30 (Rs 1,400) each month, I’m happy to let them download apps, videos or songs,” says the tech-savvy daddy.
Kejriwal’s 10-year-old daughter, too, is hooked to her iPod Touch and other smartphone applications. “My girls are permitted up to four hours a day with their gadgets. They end up spending a major chunk of this on their handheld devices,” he adds.
Yet another tech-savvy daddy, Vishal Gondal, CEO of Indiagames, loves to challenge his kids over a mobile game session. “I have bought several apps for my Nokia smartphones and, frankly, they cost way less than what I would otherwise pay for toys for my boys,” he reasons. With the interest his kids have shown in mobile apps, Gondal’s company is now eagerly exploring business opportunities in distributing mobile games and apps specifically for children on the Nokia Ovi and Apple App Store.
This young breed of parents believes there is no real harm in using the apps as tools of distraction or entertainment for their young ones and, in most cases, prefer mobile apps to a laptop connected to the internet.
For Sridhar Bhat, founder and CEO of iRemedi Corp and an iPhone-owning parent, his kids’ fascination for the device has already borne fruit. He lets on: “I had my nine-year-old daughter test out an application called PicZee — a picture puzzle app — before we launched it officially on the App Store.” Bhat’s company has also introduced Amar Chitra Katha titles for the iPhone, starting at $2, and is now eyeing Nokia’s Ovi platform to launch apps and comics.
When Farroukh Mehrani, a Mumbai-based stock broker, upgraded to the Nokia N97 Mini, he handed down his old Nokia 5800 XpressMusic model to his 10-year-old daughter, Natasha. Today, the doting father has already downloaded mobile apps worth Rs 700 through the Nokia Ovi Store.
“I realised that Natasha can benefit from mobile computing. She now uses her mobile phone during extended travel periods, like the school-to-home commute or during vacations, keeping herself entertained with mobile apps that involve drawing, puzzles and even some simulated games,” Mehrani says. Natasha’s favourite app, BlockGo, cost her father Rs 200 and keeps her happily occupied with 99 challenges and puzzles. Another favourite app of the father-daughter duo is Memory Match, which Mehrani believes can help his daughter sharpen her memory.
Once the child begins to use the apps, parents reason that it is easier to build their interest in apps that encourage interactive learning. “And, these cost just a few hundred rupees, far less than what you would pay otherwise for console games,” Mehrani adds.
So, the next time you see parents handing their pre-schoolers an iPhone or a
Nokia smartphone, leaving the child to draw and doodle on the device like the colouring books of yesteryear, don’t gawk. For, you now know that there’s an app out there for every toddler. Things have certainly changed.
