Questions parents ask

How do I keep a two-year-old calm at a wedding, christening or funeral?

Plan around sleep and food. Arrive fed and rested, and bring small, quiet snacks that don’t crumble. Sit at the end of a row or at the back so you can slip out without disturbing anyone. Take a short walk outside before your child gets restless, not after.

Pack two or three small things your child hasn’t seen for a while: a board book, stickers or a little figure. New things hold attention longer than familiar ones.

A screen can be a reasonable last resort during the quietest parts. Turn the sound off, choose something without ads or videos that pull your child onwards, and use aeroplane mode. In The Kids App you can start autoplay in one world and slide the child lock, so your child doesn’t tap away. The app works offline, so it works in churches with no signal too.

Which apps are suitable for children under three?

Norway’s Directorate of Health advises avoiding screens for children under two. For ages two to five, it recommends at most 30–60 minutes a day, ad-free content that suits the age, an adult present, and avoiding endless streams of short videos.

When you do use a screen, these are good signs in an app for little ones:

• No ads, and no feed or recommendations that pull your child onwards.
• No links out of the app and no purchases your child can make alone.
• Big, simple tiles that cope with a whole hand on the screen.
• Real-world content your child recognises: animals, vehicles, food and everyday things.
• No account and no tracking of your child.

The Kids App is built with that in mind: real photos, video and sound for 144 things across twelve worlds, no ads, no feed and purchases that need a grown-up. It’s free to download, and all the content is open.

How do we get through a flight with a one- or two-year-old?

Pick a departure around nap time if you can. Give your child something to suck or chew during take-off and landing—a bottle, a dummy or food—as it can help with ear pressure. Walk the aisle when the seatbelt sign is off.

Pack small things your child hasn’t seen before and hand them out one at a time. Snacks in small portions take a while to eat, which helps here.

If you’ll use an app, open it at home on Wi-Fi before you leave. The Kids App works offline, in aeroplane mode too, so everything comes on board.

What helps on a long car journey with a toddler?

Drive during nap time if you can, and plan stops where your child can run around. Songs, audiobooks and “what can you see out of the window” go a long way.

If you use a tablet, fix it in a headrest holder rather than leaving it loose, and keep the volume low. Signal drops in the mountains and in tunnels, so choose something that works offline.

How do I get a small child to wait at the doctor’s or in a restaurant?

Short games with no kit often work best: “find something red”, count the lamps, or draw on a napkin. Keep one small book or figure in your coat pocket.

In a restaurant, order your child’s food first and take a walk outside while you wait. A screen can cover the last few minutes—pick something calm with no ads, and decide beforehand when it goes off.

What can a two-year-old do while I cook dinner?

Let them help: rinsing vegetables, stirring a bowl or sorting cutlery. A drawer of safe kitchen things—tubs, spoons and lids—keeps many toddlers busy for a long time.

If you need both hands for a while, something calm on a screen can help. In The Kids App, tap play in one world, such as animals or vehicles, and slide the child lock. Your child then sees one thing after another from that world without tapping away. Autoplay runs until you stop it, so you decide how long.

Are there children’s apps without ads, and how can I check?

Yes. On Google Play, the app page says “Contains ads” if the app shows advertising. In the App Store, look under “App Privacy” to see whether the app uses data to track you. Try the app yourself for ten minutes before your child does.

The Kids App has no ads, no advertising or analytics tools and no accounts. The free version has interruptions that come more often over time—they’re there to sell a subscription or a one-off purchase, not to show ads.

How do I stop my child buying things in an app?

Turn on a block on the device. On iPhone and iPad: Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions, then switch off in-app purchases. With Family Sharing you can also turn on Ask to Buy. On Android: open Google Play → Settings → Authentication, and require authentication for all purchases.

In The Kids App, purchases need a grown-up: first hold an answer for two seconds, then hold the buy button for two seconds, and finally confirm in the store.

How do I stop my child leaving the app?

Both iPhone and Android have built-in locks. On iPhone and iPad it’s called Guided Access (Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access); you start it by pressing the side button three times. On Android it’s called App pinning, and you’ll find it in the security settings.

The Kids App also has a child lock in the bottom right-hand corner that must be slid more than halfway. While it’s on, your child can’t leave autoplay inside the app. To stop your child leaving the app itself with the Home gesture, combine it with Guided Access or App pinning.

Which apps for toddlers work without the internet?

Many video apps stream everything and stop when the signal goes. Test before you travel: switch on aeroplane mode at home and see whether the app still works.

The Kids App works offline. Open it on Wi-Fi first and the videos download in the background. After that the whole app works on the plane, in the car and at the cabin.

How do toddlers learn animal sounds and new words?

Through repetition and conversation. Point and say the name, make the sound together, and link it to things your child sees every day or in books. Real animals on a farm or in the park are best.

Real photos and real sounds make it easier to recognise the animal later. In The Kids App, your child taps the cow and hears a real cow. Sit together and say the name out loud, so it becomes a conversation rather than just a screen.

How much screen time is OK for a two-year-old?

Norway’s Directorate of Health advises avoiding screens before age two, and at most 30–60 minutes a day for children aged two to five. It also recommends an adult present, ad-free content that suits the age, and avoiding endless streams of short videos.

Fixed times and a warning before the screen goes off help. Agree the time in advance, and use a kitchen timer or Screen Time on iPhone. The Kids App is built with that advice in mind—but you decide the time.