The app that will stop your toddler from getting bored

Want to keep your little one entertained when out and about? Then download this app now!

I have a 28-month-old boy who is adept at handing the iPad or iPhone and who recently announced to me that he must 'download that' - pointing to the latest talking hippo/giraffe/fairy app on the App Store.

Yes, I have bred a fellow geek, which was a bit of a shock. While I was pregnant, I had all these lovely thoughts about how I would bring up my little boy - lots of reading (Magic Faraway Tree and The Hungry Caterpillar were first on the list), lots of being outdoors, lots of creative playing and definitely no TV or computer access until they were at least 10. Well, it seems I've ticked all boxes aside from the last one.

I've found TV to be a fabulous (cheap) babysitter. Without Justin and his house or Thomas and his tank enging pals, I wouldn't be able to get ready for work in the morning. I've worked out that I can shower, dress and dry my hair all within two episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine...

Equally useful - but in a different way - is the computer, or in our case, the iPad. OMG! What did people do with toddlers before these were invented? Last night, when we were out at a restaurant and he was bored waiting, I just waved it in front of him and voila! One whiny toddler replaced with one happy toddler.

I have definitely eaten my words on this front, primarily because I can see how much joy he gets from playing with the different apps, but also because he's learning new words and numbers all the time due to playing on it. He's getting into and understanding technology earlier. After all, things are only going to move forward and not backwards as he gets older... And as my childminder told me recently, Ofsted actually check her on the technology she offers the kids in her care!

We've road-tested many, many apps. Some are amusing for a short period of time, some never live up to their expectation and some have become firm favourites, which my little one returns to time and time again.

The best of these has to be Tozzle. It's basically puzzles for toddlers (see what they did there?). They're very simple drag and drop puzzles featuring different images. It's really helped my little boy with this fine hand movements and also with working out things. It's also taught him patience - although this doesn't translate when he demands his daily ice-lolly hit!

The animated puzzles are a big hit (when you build the train, it starts moving) but each one has its merits. And it doesn't seem limited to two-year-olds either. At a recent barbie, two five-year-olds were pestering their parents to download the app once they saw my LO playing with it.

So, if you want to allay tantrums while out shopping or keep your little one busy on a plane (which we're doing next month - help!), download Tozzle now. For £1.49, it really is a lifesaver and one you might even enjoy yourself...

The app that will make you look gorgeous!

I like make-up. Actually, that's an understatement, I adore make-up. Not for me, a small cosmetic bag to keep my goodies in. No, I have a professional make-up box. Prior to that, I had a toolbox so I have downsized a little over the years.

I've always liked experimenting with my looks and am often first in the queue for the latest must-buy colour or brand, however, like most women I'm also guilty of getting stuck in a rut - mine is a smokey-eye-nude-lip-rut. Therefore, I was really pleased to discover the new The Colour Genius app from L'Oreal.

The idea behind this app is that you take a snap of what you're wearing and then L'Oreal will suggest some make-up colours to either match, blend or clash with your total look.

L'Oreal's suggestions for my outfit

As with all free apps, I wasn't sure how good it was going to be, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Firstly, I never really think about matching my outfit colours to my shades of make-up, but secondly, it really did give me some new ideas on how to use my my rather large cosmetics collection.

I love the idea that you can clash or blend - it would be a great app to use on a girl's night out when you're getting ready with your mates. Admittedly, it may run out of colourways but hopefully L'Oreal will add their new season shades when they're released.

Verdict: A fun way of getting more out of your make-up. The only downside is the colours, which are all  L'Oreal specific, but if you've got an extensive make-up collection like me, you'll be able to find something similar. A danger though for the purse...

The app that will calm you down

Hello blogging world! It's been a while since I've blogged - life's events took over - but I'm back now with a renewed passion. Unfortunately I was recently involved in a very horrible car crash but instead of letting it get me down, I'm choosing to see that silver lining and am embracing all my passions in life. I may be a geek but the digital world and blogging is definitely one of those so I'll be back posting here with a vengeance!

Due to my nasty accident, I've recently come across an app, which I swear has saved my sanity. Anyone who has been through a traumatic event will tell you that the mental scars as just as bad, if not worse, as the physical scars. Flashbacks knock you sideways and appear at any moment and things fall apart just like that.

My problem at the moment is not being able to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see the crash happening in slow motion. I've tried sleeping tables, I've tried watching crap films (yes, even Eyes Wide Shut didn't send me into a coma) but nothing really worked. Until I found this fabulous app.

A must-download if you seek inner calm

The Simply Being app guides you through the meditation process and helps you try and block out the inner and outer noise, while you try and find peace. Even if you're a total meditation novice, this app will definitely calm you down and help silence whatever is shouting out loudest. After using it four or five times, I felt much calmer and able to sleep without the help of tablets or bad Tom Cruise movies.

Verdict: It's meditation by numbers and although it may not turn you into Dalai Lama overnight, I guarantee it will help you find some peace in this busy and hectic world!

The app that will make your baby sleep*

When I got my iPhone towards the end of my pregnancy, I thought it would be useful to keep in touch with all my mates while I was ensconced in the house with newborn babba on my hipo. What I didn’t realise is that it would be a total life-saver once said baby had arrived.

I thought that apps could allow me do my banking while on the move, amuse me in those early hours of the morning while feeding baby, help me keep connected with my friends. I didn’t realise that there were such a wealth of baby-related apps out there.

Anyone who has had a baby knows that those early months are hell – mainly because you don’t get much sleep. Babies have gone from being cocooned in the comfort of the womb to being in this noisy, foreign place and that makes it difficult for them to sleep.

We struggled endlessly with our little man. It didn’t help that he had reflux, a condtion, which meant he didn’t like lying on his back, but we just couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t sleep. That’s when I stumbled across the Baby Sleeping Wonder app - or Einschlafwunder in its native German (ooo, it trips off the tongue...)

It’s a really simple app, which basically allows you to choose various white noises to help your baby to sleep. Whether you choose a hairdryer or waves, the background noise supposedly soothes baby to sleep. It must work as Wayne Rooney still likes to sleep with the hoover on – unless that is of course some other deep-seated festish he has. You can also add in a heartbeat, which makes the baby feel like it’s back in the womb. 

You could go out and buy a white noise CD but the bonus with this app is that it has a timer and at the end of the allotted time, it fades out and stops on its own, gradually reducing the noise until there is total quiet.

It might not work for every baby but it certainly helped ours get some sleep – and both myself and my husband found the noise quite soothing as well!

Verdict: It’s simple to use and it may well help your baby sleep, which is worth its weight in gold. The fact that it’s on your iPhone means you can also use it when you’re out and about or on holiday, which is definitely a bonus over those white noise CDs. Download the Baby Sleeping Wonder app for free now and hopefully you’ll get some much-needed sleep.*

*Well, probably

Kerpow! Jayne saves the world with her latest App

I've already waxed lyrical about my favourite App at the mo, Instagram, but this week I’ve been having mucho fun with a new photo app, Halftone. I came across this when it was app of the week and people started murmuring about it online.

For just 69p, it’s great fun, enabling you to transform ordinary photos into super-doopa comic book style images, as seen by my effort (left).

Verdict:  Really easy to use with step-by-step guides – it took me about 1 minute to create my comic book artwork. 

Great fun, but I’ll probably get bored with it quite quickly, although could be a good way to make personalised birthday cards – as long as the recipient likes comic books! Download it now for just 69p. If you download it this weekend though, it’s free – get Halftone now!

An App a day...

...keeps the doctor away. Well , I wish it would because with the amount of apps I’ve downloaded, I’d be the healthiest person alive! 

With over 300,000 apps available to download and use, it’s easy to get lost out there. I’ve used the good, the bad, and the downright ugly so to help you navigate your way through the world of apps, I’ll be highlighting the best ones around at the moment.

First up, It’s all about apps that change images. Instagram has been around just 10 months, but has become a huge success, with 7 million users and most recently, they had their 150 millionth uploaded photo. I can attest that I’ve contributed to that last mighty stat, uploading random image after image.

It’s the mark of a good app that you want to carry on using it and has a use – it makes bog standard iPhone images look really quite cool and professional. Take my images below – even the one of my son’s toy dog looks slightly creative.  You can choose from various finishes – including a really retro ‘70s look, which takes me back to my childhood photos – plus if you want to share your artwork, it’s easy to add it to Facebook and Twitter with a touch of a button.

Verdict: It’s genius, easy to use and gets my full marks. Download the Instagram app today – if you haven’t done already –and I guarantee all your photos in future will look so much better, and what’s more, it’s free!