As the popularity of tablets for education grows, parents and teachers are embracing technology’s role in toddlers’ development. When loaded with e-books, games and educational programming, the tablet becomes a great learning tool for young children.  

Parents or caregivers don’t have to lug a library of cardboard books around; they can store a library on their tablet so reading can continue wherever they are. A child’s favorite stories are easily found with e-reader apps, like Kindle for Android and NOOK for Android by B&N, each offering children’s e-books with brilliant illustrations and playful features. Many e-books have a read-aloud function, allowing children to hear and see new words. The Popout! Tale of Peter Rabbit app even lets children control characters.

Interactive games on a tablet’s large, HD-quality screen, along with impressive sound quality, can help toddlers develop fine motor skills and correlate sound to vision. Games with bright, colorful graphics and fun noises make toddlers excited to play and learn. For example, in the game Peekaboo Barn, children open barn doors to find animals, learning about cause and effect and becoming familiar with animal names and sounds in English or Spanish. Another game, Number Hide and Seek, helps toddlers learn numbers and counting through a rhyming story.

Parents can stream educational television shows and movies from just about anywhere using apps like viewdini, a video portal that streamlines access to videos from a wide range of content providers. Popular shows and movies, including favorites such as “Bob the Builder” and “Barney,” are available with access to user ratings and plot summaries to ensure it is “kid-friendly” programming. If Big Bird or Elmo is a favorite, there’s the Sesame Street Video app that offers many educational videos featuring the lovable characters.

Games, stories and educational videos on a tablet are a great way to engage toddlers with technology that helps them learn and grow.