Skip to content
Their First Words

Home › Best for › One-year-olds

Twelve to twenty-four months

The best learning app for 1-year-olds — honestly, and what the guidance says (2026)

A one-year-old is not supposed to be learning from a screen, and the guidance says so plainly. What a one-year-old does learn from is a person naming the world — so the apps worth having at this age are the ones that help a parent do that, briefly, with the phone in their own hands. Here they are, ours included and its limits stated.

By the parents who make Their First Words · October 2026 · 6 min read

The illustration on the ball card

We make Their First Words, so this is our own comparison — written by the two parents who build it, not by a reviewer. The facts about every other app were checked on October 2, 2026 against their store listings and websites, and the sources are listed at the end. Prices are US prices and change. Where another app is the better choice for your family, this page says so.

The short answer

If you only read this part.

  • What the guidance says: the WHO recommends no sedentary screen time at one; the AAP says children under eighteen months learn from real-world interaction, with video chat the exception, and from 18–24 months to choose quality and use it together.1, 2, 3
  • The best thing at one: a board book and your voice. Free.
  • If you want an app in your own hands from eighteen months: Their First Words — one picture, one word, a native voice to copy, then it waits for you. Free to start.
  • The first game a toddler can tap: Peekaboo Barn, $3.99 once, together.
  • For video, together: Ms. Rachel, free on YouTube. For a learning library, Khan Academy Kids — from two or three, not now.

The picks at a glance

Who each one is for.

AppBest forPriceWorks on
Paper cards and board booksPaper cards and board booksAll of age oneA few dollars, or free: our printable cards are the 75 free words and 35 free phrases in eight languagesA table, a highchair, a lap
Their First WordsTheir First WordsoursA prompt in the parent’s hands, from eighteen months, two minutes at a time$9.99 once for everything; no subscriptioniPhone, iPad, Android
Peekaboo BarnPeekaboo BarnThe first thing a toddler can tap, played together$3.99 onceiPhone, iPad; Android
Ms. Rachel (Songs for Littles)Ms. Rachel (Songs for Littles)Video, from eighteen months, watched together and answered out loudFree on YouTube (with YouTube’s ads unless you pay for Premium); also on NetflixAny screen with YouTube or Netflix
Khan Academy KidsKhan Academy KidsLater — the free library for when your child can playFree — no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchasesiPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android, Amazon Fire

Prices are US store prices on the day they were checked (October 2, 2026); the store is the authority for today’s price.

How we chose

The yardstick, out loud.

  • It fits the guidance: nothing a one-year-old watches alone, and nothing before eighteen months but a video call.1, 2, 3
  • It makes the adult talk more, not less. More screen minutes at 12–36 months went with fewer words from adults and fewer back-and-forth turns.5
  • It waits. No autoplay by default, no rewards, nothing designed to keep a child on it.3
  • It is over in two minutes without a fight.

We rank by fit for the family in the title, not by who made the app. Their First Words is on this list because it belongs here for some of these families and not for others, and the page says which.

The picks

One at a time, honestly.

1 of 5

Paper cards and board books

Best for: All of age one

Price A few dollars, or free: our printable cards are the 75 free words and 35 free phrases in eight languagesWorks on A table, a highchair, a lapAges From birthLanguages Whatever you say out loud

A board book, a stack of cards, a walk around the kitchen naming things: this is the curriculum, and it is free. One-year-olds learn words from a live person naming what they are already looking at, and learn the sounds of a language from a person in the room rather than from any recording.6 Our printables are the 75 free words and 35 free phrases as paper cards in eight languages, if you want something to stick by the highchair.

2 of 5

Their First Wordsours

Best for: A prompt in the parent’s hands, from eighteen months, two minutes at a time

Price $9.99 once for everything; no subscriptionWorks on iPhone, iPad, AndroidAges 0–5, in three parent-chosen stages (phrases are not split by stage)Languages English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean and Russian on every card (the app’s own screens are in English)

One picture, one word, said once by a native voice so you can say it yourself, in any of eight languages. Nothing moves, nothing rewards, and the next card comes when you turn it; Auto Play is off unless you choose it, and Lock stops a grabbing hand from skipping ahead. The First Words stage holds the 25 free words made for 0–24 months. Used the way the AAP describes — alongside the child, as a start for conversation — it is a picture book that speaks eight languages.3

Free with no account; $9.99 once for everything; fully offline.

Worth knowing: We make it, and it is still a screen. Before eighteen months, use it as your own prompt list with the phone out of the baby’s sight. It will not entertain a one-year-old alone, and it should not.

3 of 5

Peekaboo Barn

Best for: The first thing a toddler can tap, played together

Price $3.99 onceWorks on iPhone, iPad; AndroidAges Toddlers; Apple rates it 4+Languages Animal names in eight-plus languages, including Spanish, German, French, Mandarin, Hindi and Japanese

Tap the barn, an animal pops out and says its name, in English or in eight-plus other languages. $3.99 once, no ads, no purchases, offline. It is the gentlest cause-and-effect game there is, and the right length: a minute, a laugh, done.

Worth knowing: Animals only, and the point at this age is you saying “cow!” with the child, not the child alone with the barn.

4 of 5

Ms. Rachel (Songs for Littles)

Best for: Video, from eighteen months, watched together and answered out loud

Price Free on YouTube (with YouTube’s ads unless you pay for Premium); also on NetflixWorks on Any screen with YouTube or NetflixAges Babies and toddlers, as the channel presents themLanguages English

A former music teacher modeling first words, signs and songs slowly, with pauses for the child to answer. Free on YouTube (with YouTube’s ads) and on Netflix, English only. Of all the video made for toddlers, it is the closest in spirit to a parent naming things, and it works best when you answer her pauses together.

Worth knowing: Under eighteen months the guidance is no video but video chat.2, 3 After that: together, short, and turn it off before the autoplay finds the next one.

5 of 5

Khan Academy Kids

Best for: Later — the free library for when your child can play

Price Free — no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchasesWorks on iPhone, iPad (iOS 13+), Android, Amazon FireAges 2–8, as the maker statesLanguages English, with a section of books translated into Spanish

Free, ad-free, from a nonprofit, with thousands of games, books and videos for ages 2 to 8. We put it here so you know what to install next, not now: it is a library for a child who can navigate, and a one-year-old can’t.

Worth knowing: English, needs an adult account, and made for independent play. Not for this year.

In fairness

Where Their First Words falls short for this family.

  • It is still a screen, and at one the guidance is none. The honest best app for a one-year-old is a book.
  • It does nothing a child can do alone, so it will not buy you five minutes — and nothing at this age should.
  • No songs, no cause-and-effect games; Peekaboo Barn is the better first tap.

What to do

This week.

  1. Narrate the day: “Shoes. Your shoes. On they go.” How much a toddler is talked to, and how, predicts their vocabulary years out.4
  2. Read one board book a day, the same one if that is the one they bring you.
  3. If you use a screen, keep it in your hands, keep it to a couple of minutes, and say the words yourself; turn off autoplay everywhere you can.3
  4. Video-call someone who loves them; the AAP counts it as relationship time, not screen time.3
  5. Read our screen time under two guide for the AAP and WHO guidance and the studies behind it.

Questions

What parents ask.

Is any screen time okay for a one-year-old?

The WHO says sedentary screen time is not recommended at one; the AAP’s line is no screen media but video chat before eighteen months, then high-quality content used together.1, 2, 3 Our own app is best used at this age as your prompt, not their screen.

What about video calls?

The one exception every guideline makes. Grandparents on a call naming the toys count as people, not screens.3

Do “educational” baby apps teach anything?

The controlled research on baby vocabulary media found no learning from the screen and real learning from parents saying the same words in daily life.6 The word “educational” on a listing is marketing.

How long is a session?

Two minutes is a session; five is a long one. Stop while it is still pleasant and it will be pleasant tomorrow.

Head to head: Their First Words vs Khan Academy Kids.

What this is based on

Sources

  1. World Health Organization (2019). To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more — no screen time under one; none recommended for sedentary one-year-olds; at most an hour a day from two to four, and less is better. who.int
  2. American Academy of Pediatrics (2016). Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics, 138(5) — avoid screen media other than video chat under 18 months; from 18 to 24 months choose high-quality content and use it together with the child. publications.aap.org
  3. American Academy of Pediatrics (2026). Helping kids thrive in a digital world: the AAP policy explained — infants under 18 months learn best from real-world interaction; watch and play alongside your child; favor conversation over designs that prolong engagement; video chat with family is relationship time. healthychildren.org
  4. Rowe, M. L. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech in vocabulary development. Child Development, 83(5), 1762–1774. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01805.x
  5. Brushe, M. E. et al. (2024). Screen time and parent-child talk when children are aged 12 to 36 months. JAMA Pediatrics — more screen minutes went with fewer adult words, fewer child vocalizations and fewer back-and-forth turns. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  6. Kuhl, P. K., Tsao, F.-M. & Liu, H.-M. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. PNAS, 100(15), 9096–9101. pnas.org
  7. Apple App Store, Peekaboo Barn — price, languages, ad-free, offline, last update shown as June 2025. apps.apple.com
  8. Ms. Rachel, official site. msrachel.com
  9. Apple App Store, Khan Academy Kids — free, no ads, ages 2–8, 5,000+ activities, offline downloads, privacy label. apps.apple.com
  10. Khan Academy Kids, official page — subjects, standards, teacher tools. khanacademy.org/kids
  11. Khan Academy Kids, Privacy policy — account requirement, what is collected, no advertising. khanacademy.org
  12. Khan Academy support — the app is English-only; Spanish books in the Library. support.khanacademy.org
  13. Their First Words, FAQ — price, free set, languages, offline use, accounts. theirfirstwords.org/faq

Facts about other apps were checked on October 2, 2026 against the sources above. Store prices are US prices on that day; they change, and the store is the authority for today’s price.

More guides

Other families.

Simple Words, Special Moments

Start with one word.

75 words and 35 phrases are free, forever, with both voices. One $9.99 purchase opens the rest of the 1,000+ words and 500+ phrases, in all eight languages at once. No subscription, nothing renews.

Download on the App Store — Their First Words Get it on Google Play — Their First Words
No ads, ever Private by design Works offline No account needed Up to 4 children