Five Creative Apps Every Kid Should Try

Technology has a lot levelled at its robotic feet. From child obesity, to the breakdown of marriages (looking at you, Facebook) to changing our brains. Well, scratch below the headlines and you'll find that a) you'd be hard-pressed to avoid technology given that pretty much anything man-made counts as tech and b) there are oodles and oodles of examples of apps, games, websites and hardware helping kids to channel and explore their creativity.

Here are just a handful of creative apps every kid should try.

1. We love the look of Pixel Press, which turns children's doodles a simple game. It's really simple, your child sketches their levels on squared paper, you take a picture with your smartphone or tablet and bingo, it's in the game. We wrote a little about Pixel Press and were delighted when the creator himself popped up to talk about it some more. Pre-order for10.
2. Toontastic was recommended by one of Quib.ly's educational tech experts. She says it's a fantastic way for kids to let their creativity shine, as they create their own cartoons, learning about storytelling along the way. Children can then share their finished videos on 'ToonTube'. Available for iOS.
3. For budding teenage snappers, Paper Camera is a lovely little Android app that offers a different spin on photo filtering. Paper Camera allows real time editing, adding cartoons and styling. Available for £1.19.
4. I love Skitch and use it for splurting out ideas for work, whereas my kids (not yet called upon for business presentations of any kind) use it for collages and funking up pictures. From the company that brought you the ever-handy Evernote, Skitch is a free app that brings the fluid finger painting approach to notes and memos. Add arrows, pictures, captions and more, it could provide a very handy way to spruce up homework. Available for free.
5. Puppet Workshop was suggested by a father of four on Quib.ly, and I can see why. It's such an awesome idea and, as with several of these apps, brings traditional analogue activities into the tablet your kids are holding. Use Puppet Workshop to create a sock puppet with your iPad and then another, and another and another... Available on iOS.