Your dinner is ready on the stove, your child who’s about five years old is pulling your shirt, and the tablet is already in the little one’s hands. You have two choices to make: deny and face the tantrum, or allow and have a bit of guilt in your heart. But there’s always an alternative. Search for 'free educational games for kids' in your app store, choose wisely, and turn that device into a learning experience for ten minutes.

Start With Letters Your Child Already Sees

Letters are to be introduced first, so it would be the best idea to start playing the alphabet game. The best way for 3- to 5-year-old kids to learn letters is through touching, dragging, and pronouncing them. It should be done with a game in which the letter appears, its sound is pronounced, and the letter is combined with a picture, for example, a red apple for A. This is the way that Starfall does it, along with several other games. After that, let your child find the same letter on a box of cereal or a road sign.

Build Words Step By Step

After your child becomes familiar with most of the letters, it is time for spelling and reading games to start. Games that use easy words such as "cat," "sun," and "dog" will be used initially, then more difficult ones when proficiency increases. Most of these games require your kid to connect a word with an image or complete a word by adding a missing letter.

You should always sit alongside your kid for the first few times while they're playing the game. This way, it is easy to know when they are struggling. If the kid is consistently failing in words beginning with a certain sound, replay that level.

Here are some qualities of such games:

• Clear voice that reads each word aloud
• Levels that get harder slowly, not all at once
• No pop-up ads or links that open other apps
• A progress screen you can check in seconds
• Keep Screen Time Short And Useful

Time constraints are just as important as the games you choose. Children between the ages of two and five are recommended around one hour of screen time daily according to pediatric organizations, and that hour is for every screen in your house. Choose ABC games for kids that last five to ten minutes so that you have an easy way to stop without any problems.

Characters from familiar programs such as those found on Sesame Street will help children who are reluctant become more comfortable during their practice session. You can set a timer on the device before the child plays so that they understand beforehand what time limit exists.

Conclusion

Letter and word recognition doesn’t need to be boring. Begin with letters, proceed to short words, but ensure that each session is short. Participate in the game for the first few times, so that you understand what is easy and hard for your child. Pick learning games that have clear speech, low levels, and no ads. Finally, use a timer. Fifteen minutes per day equals one hour in a week. And children usually beg to do these activities because they perceive them as playing rather than studying.