Child health experts now ask parents to look beyond minutes, at what their children actually do on screens. That’s the idea behind one of the most useful settings in Child Control, our parental control app for Android and Windows: time on a learning app can stop counting toward the daily limit, or even earn extra screen time.
To help you choose, we picked 15 learning apps that parents rate highly.
Every app here is built for children under Google Play’s Families policy. Each one is rated 4.3 stars or more by at least 1,000 people, shows no ads, shares no data for advertising and was updated in the past year. We check the list again every three months, and no publisher pays to be here. Choose your child’s age to see the apps for toddlers, preschool, kindergarten or elementary school.
Books for KidsSmart Kidz Club
Illustrated books and reading activities.
Hooked on PhonicsHooked & Company
Learn-to-read lessons for early readers.
Jolly Phonics LessonsJolly Learning
The Jolly Phonics program, as an app.
Kahoot! KidsKahoot!
DragonBox math and Poio reading apps in one bundle.
Khan Academy KidsKhan Academy
Free, ad-free early learning from the Khan Academy nonprofit.
King of Math JrOddrobo
Math quiz game series, translated into 19 languages.
LetterSchool
Learn to form letters and numbers.
Lingokids
More than 4,000 learning activities for young children.
Math KidsRV AppStudios
Free, ad-free early math games.
Monster MathMakkajai
Story-based math practice from kindergarten to Grade 3.
Moshi KidsMind Candy
Sleep stories, meditations and calming music.
Pok Pok
Calm, open-ended, Montessori-inspired play.
Reading.comTeaching.com
Learn-to-read app designed for a parent and child to use together.
SplashLearnStudyPad
Math and reading games from pre-K to Grade 5.
Studycat
Language games for young children, in several languages.
No app on the list for this age and subject yet. Try “All”.
We haven’t tested these apps ourselves, and we aren’t affiliated with their publishers or paid by them. The list is based on public Google Play information: rating, number of ratings, ads and last update. Each app remains the responsibility of its publisher, so check its content, price and privacy policy before you install it. App names and icons belong to their owners.
It depends on how you set limits. Most screen time limits count every minute the same way, whatever the app. With Child Control, you decide for each app: time on a learning app can count, stop counting, or earn extra screen time. More on the question in our article Do learning apps count as screen time?
Yes, on Android phones and tablets and on Windows PCs. In Child Control, give the learning app the access level Allowed PLUS and choose “Stop time counting”. The daily counter pauses while the app is open, and starts again when your child switches to another app.
Yes. In Child Control, choose “Bonus” for the learning app and set the ratio, for example 5 minutes of play for every 10 minutes of learning, and a daily maximum, for example 30 minutes. Your child gets the screen time reward as a bonus voucher, redeems it on the device, and the minutes are added on top of the day’s limit.
Yes. In Child Control, add the website to the Web List in the Web Filter. It works in Chrome on Android and in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on Windows. On Windows, the browser’s “Count also in background” option has to be off.
Not on your child’s device: Child Control runs on Android phones and tablets and on Windows PCs. You can still change the settings from your own iPhone or iPad.
Child Control lets learning apps pause the clock or earn a bonus, while games and videos keep their limit.
Help other families find good screen time. Tell us which app you’d like to see on this list, and we’ll check it against our criteria.