REVIEW POST
Having recently reviewed technology and IT related apps and toys with Noah and Isaac, I’ve started to pay WAY more attention to what they actually play with. Both my boys are hooked on cars. Anything with wheels, in fact. Anything. However, I’m a bit precious about my Apple products, so they don’t get that much of a chance to indulge in technology. Despite this, when they do get to have a go, they’re frighteningly slick, pick up the idea insanely quickly and seem to know their way around incredibly well. And they love it.
Noah regularly asks to play games on my iPhone or iMac and Isaac can often be often be found trying to “swipe” my MacBook Pro screen. He’s only 22 months remember, he’s just a teeny bit behind in figuring it out… (I’m hoping for an iPad soon. That will confuse him.)
So after the Humf review, I had no problems with them reviewing a Peppa Pig “Polly Parrot” app. Especially since they both received a bazillion Peppa Pig DVDs for Christmas (God bless the swine).
Now, if I’m honest, Noah hasn’t taken much of an interest in this one. He’s played all the available games in there, all of which you can see in the vid at the end of this post. His favourite was easily Where’s Polly, where you tap various parts of different rooms to see if Polly Parrot is hiding underneath. Loved it, for all of 10 minutes. Of course the problem we face, is that he has is obvious favourites. And I don’t mean within the game, I mean on my iPhone in general. But I also start to wonder – are major companies trying too hard to rule all markets?
Both Noah and Isaac will happily sit and watch Peppa Pig on TV, but neither are particularly bothered by the app itself. The Talking Parrot game, where you can make Polly Parrot say a variety of silly phrases was way beyond 22 month old Isaac, and whilst Noah engaged in it for a minute or two (most of that time was spent just figuring out how it worked), again he too didn’t last long. I’m not entirely sure why.
Surprisingly, the least favourite was Sticker Book where you collect virtual stickers and decorate a ‘sticker book’ with many different items and characters. Noah sees stickers as rewards, whether at home or at school (and even as presented to him in a few other apps he adores), and as for “sticking for fun”, well, I think the fun for him seems to be in the actually stickiness of the sticker, as it were.
My view? I think some of the bigger names could be trying a little too hard. Well, in our house in any case. The boys love Peppa Pig. Love her to bits. But they have become a bit selective as to which niche they choose to enjoy her. The same is said for other characters. They both love their tv characters, but will not make a fuss of them in an electronic game.
On the flip side, both of them still pester me to play games on my iPhone and iMac. Interestingly, they always go for the ones that they wouldn’t normally see on tv. Are my kiddos just a wee bit odd? Wouldn’t surprise me. If kids and technology are the future, should we draw a line somewhere? Or will they draw it for us?
*The Peppa Pig “Polly Parrot” app was sent to us for free on the proviso that we review it and post it on this blog.
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