toddlers

For today only, Monkey Preschool Lunchbox is available, for free, at the Amazon Appstore. A few of the dads here at CNET swear by this game for their young ones, on their iPads, but lest we forget that some of you Android users are parents too, why not share the love? I've watched one of my godchildren play this game on my HTC Incredible, and found myself wanting to get into the action as she passed each level. I get entertained when they're entertained, so it's a win-win.

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox will teach your child the basic fundamentals of cognition through various mini-games consisting of memorization, counting, colors, letters, puzzle-solving, shape identification, and spot the difference. Encouragement is provided by the animated monkey on the screen through way of somersaults, and rewards come in the form of cartoon stickers the child can collect for their sticker board.

The game does not track statistics, nor does it get progressively harder based upon how quickly and/or easily your child goes through the levels.

Monkey Preschool Lunchbox will be free until 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT, so download now and get your toddler learning!… Read more

In the last few days, a YouTube video of 2-year-old Bridger Wilson working rather fluidly with an iPad has started making the rounds in the blogosphere. The video is a little disconcerting because it sort of reminds you of those E-Trade baby commercials, which are amusing because they're so obviously fake. Well, this isn't.

Little Bridger seems quite in command of his father's iPad as he swipes his way over to a drawing app when his dad suggests he draw a picture. He then navigates through the app to pick drawing tools and dinosaur stickers. Later in the video, he's shown using other apps. Next year, he'll be checking stock quotes and making trades.… Read more

Though it might seem otherwise just now, there's more to life than college basketball. Oh, who am I kidding? No, there's not. But you need something to keep you busy during those endless Southwest Airlines commercials, right?

With that in mind, here's this week's batch of new games for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and, soon enough, iPad.

1. Fisher-Price games Not all games are for grown-ups. Fisher-Price's App Store debut includes three titles for the toddler set: Chatter Telephone (99 cents), Little People Farm ($1.99), and See 'n Say ($1.99). I must admit I have mixed feelings about substituting an electronic screen for actual tactile toys--but if these apps can buy you a five-minute break from screaming, then I say, let 'em tap!

2. Frogman Look! Crossing the street! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's...Frogman! This Frogger-inspired, superhero-themed slice of 3D awesomeness isn't in the App Store just yet, but it's due "very soon"--and when you get a peek at the promo video, you'll understand why I can't wait. Kinda makes the original Frogger look like, well, roadkill.… Read more

If orangutans can post photos to Facebook, then toddlers can certainly Twitter.

And now they have a prototype gadget for doing that--the Twoddler, a tricked-out Fisher Price Activity Center with pictures of family members and friends attached and an Arduino board inside.

When a child presses a certain picture for a select amount of time, software captures sensor data from the activity center and selects and sends a predefined text related to that data.

For example, when Bobby plays with Mom's picture for more than three minutes, a Twitter message will post to Bobby's personal Twitter account saying, &… Read more

This case could either be seen as cute or maddening.

Sarah Quinlan, a New Zealand mom, went to take nap after having made some online bids on toys. When she came back, her 3-year-old had taken over the computer and bought a much more serious toy: a real earth mover for a cool 20,000 New Zealand dollars (about $12,300).

According to Rodney Times, Pipi Quinlan was happily clicking away on the keyboard while her parent was asleep and ended up being the winner of a Kobelco digger, a gigantic earth-moving vehicle.

Sarah had the shock of her life … Read more

Whether they're riding Segways or cleaning buildings, some of the most aggressively animated robots are coming out of South Korean R&D labs. But they also have a softer side too--at least, that's what we hope.

The "Ringbo" is a robotic vehicle for children that can be steered with game-like joysticks sticking out of its head like a pair of antennae. It can run for an hour on a 6- or 8-hour charge, according to OhGizmo, which added that it's not exactly sure why. We're equally baffled, especially given that this is supposedly … Read more

Maybe it's just us, but we've never had to force our kids to go to the bathroom. It's always been more of an issue having them not exercise their bodily functions at inopportune times, such as the middle of a movie, in the car on a road trip, or a downtown bus station where the last thing you'd want to do is set foot (or anything else) in the public restroom.

So were somewhat disappointed to learn that the "Potty Watch" is aimed at teaching tots when to go, rather than when not to. … Read more

It's depressing enough to think that parents need some sort of remote sensors to keep track of their kids--or are paranoid enough to think they need them, anyway. Making matters worse, most of the tracking devices we've seen have a clinical or Orwellian feel to them (often both).

So if we must resort to technology to raise our children, at least the "Giggle Bug Toddler Tracker" tries to make it a little less frightening for them by turning it into a toy of sorts. Rather than sound an alarm like an air raid horn, the bug … Read more

... or maybe a teether?

I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be handing over a 5.5G iPod to my child, but given the numerous Disney movie titles available in the iTunes Store, it might be a good way to occupy the little chipmunk while you're out and about. Good thing there's the Tadpole, a rugged, playful protective case with dual handles.

Available November 1 from iFrogz, the $20 Tadpole "engulfs the whole iPod while leaving open areas for the Click Wheel, iPod view screen, and various buttons and accessory points." Made of dust-, lint-, … Read more