While we all know that too much screen time is bad for kids, many parents find it hard not to let their kids hold gadgets. I’m part of that population of parents, and I know from experience the reasons behind most parents’ decision to let their kids use gadgets or watch online shows.

Because zero screen time is just not feasible for some families, the best for parents like me to deal with it is to regulate screen time. This means setting limits to the frequency of their gadget use, making sure that the kids still spend more time on other non-screen activities, and choosing the screen time activities and contents that the kids are exposed to.

Fun app appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers

One of the educational apps that I allow my daughter to use is Mash&Co, an award-winning educational app from Italy designed for preschoolers from 3 to 6 years-old. Mash&Co is a fun app that features a young mushroom named Mash and a wacky snail named Periwinkle whose mission is to save the forest from drought.  It offers a unique adventure that teaches children positive values and eco-awareness.

I approve this app for my daughter because:

• The app allows her to use her imagination. There is no voice-over or character conversation in the story of Mash&Co, so Tash uses her creative mind to imagine what the characters are conveying to understand how the story flows.
• The activity dynamics of the app aims to help kids to develop their interaction, recognition, and coordination skills based on their in-game performance. 
• There are activities in the app that allows her to think and develop important skills. There are activities that teach color combination, shape recognition and other stuff. So it’s just like the activity books we buy for her from bookstores, but Mash&Co activities for kids are definitely fun and animated.
• The story teaches the child about positive values like importance of nature, collaboration, sharing, respect and caring for someone.
• I can track my child’s progress through the app’s special control panel for parents. 

Approved by child psychology experts

Inspired by the evolution and the effects of new media in children’s learning process, Mash&Co app was created in Italy by innovative start-up and production company Mash&Co.  The app’s concept was born out of the objective of combining entertainment and learning tools to give kids a uniquely engaging learning experience. Considering every child’s holistic well-being,  the contents of the app have been developed and studied together with experts in child psychology.  

Likewise, Mash&Co has been awarded in various international festivals.  It was named Best Educational App for Kids in Italy, Finland and Japan.

Mash&Co is now available on Google Play and iOS App Store.  Once you’ve downloaded the appisodes, you can save them for later and watch them without an internet connection or mobile data. 

Halloween Discount

Mash&Co is giving away a treat for iOS users this Halloween! Enjoy 70% OFF discount on all individual paid content and 40% OFF on content bundles in the Mash&Co app. This promo is valid until October 30, 2020.

Download new adventures of Mash and Periwinkle through their “appisodes”. Download the app on Apple Store: http://bit.ly/MashAppleiOS

For more information about the app, read this blog. Follow Mash&Co Philippines on Facebook.