It is never too early to start learning, and in our growing digital world, it’s never too early to start engaging little ones with new technologies. Kids early on should become acquainted with tablets, smartphones, etc., otherwise, they will be behind later in life. That is not to say that physical play—tangible play—should by any means take a backseat to screentime for kids under the age of 4. Physical play is still just an integral to developmental skills to infants and toddlers as it always was.
So how do parents find a happy balance between the two? Tiggly has the answer to this dilemma with its Tiggly Shapes. Designed by world-class educators, Tiggly Shapes is a set of four geometric shapes—a square, a circle, a triangle, and a star—that allows kids to engage in interactive play. Tiggly Shapes is an iPad learning toy designed to teach toddlers about shapes and help them develop spatial thinking, motor skills, creativity, and language skills. There are currently three free apps—Tiggly Safari, Tiggly Draw, and Tiggly Stamp—that are all available in eight different languages. A fourth app Tiggly Christmas is also available now, while a fifth app is currently in development. Kids can play in a bilingual mode that allows them to learn two languages at the same time—pretty impressive for apps designed for kids as young as 18 months.
Tiggly Safari is probably my favorite app of the bunch. This app lets kids build animals with the Tiggly Shapes. It announces the shape as well as the animal created, so kids can learn both at the same time. In Tiggly Stamp, Kids can stamp a scene with the shapes and the app creates characters that can then be dragged and dropped into a picture of their own creation. They can either create a shareable photo, or a story telling video that can then be saved and played back. This is especially cool if the child’s parents are away; they can then play a familiar story every night. With Tiggly Draw, the play is less structured. Kids use the shapes and the many options of eyes, noses, mouths, feet, wings, and hats to create their own characters. When the character is finished, kids can watch that character animated, and mom and dad can save it or share it via social media.
The best part about the shapes themselves is that they are designed to keep Mom and Dad’s iPads safe—kids can slam the shapes against the iPad screen with no damage, which is perfect for kids that are just learning to control their motor skills. They come in fun, bright colors, and are designed to fit perfectly into little hands.
This product and more from Tiggly will be on display at The Big Toy Book’s Sweet Suite 14 event in New York City on July 17. Part of Blogger Bash, a two-day conference connecting bloggers and brands nationwide, Sweet Suite will feature the hottest toys and games for the upcoming holiday season. Visit thebigtoybook.com for more info, and follow the conversation on Twitter!
