Best parenting apps UK (2026) for babies and toddlers
Nine parenting apps and websites for families with babies and toddlers, sorted by the job you need doing. Several are free, and we’re clear about which ones cost money.
- Free to download
- No account needed
- No screen time for your child
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The quick answer
- For play ideas with babies and toddlers: Mooshie Moments (6 months to 4 years), with Tovi and BabySparks as alternatives.
- For understanding your child: The Happy Child is free and short, and The Wonder Weeks explains fussy phases in the first 20 months.
- For tracking development: Pathways is free, and Kinedu is an all-in-one paid option.
- Free and UK-made: CBeebies Parenting, the BBC’s website for talking and play from pregnancy to 5.
The apps at a glance
Swipe the table to see every column →
| App | Who uses the screen | Ages | Free version | Paid (UK) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mooshie Moments | Parent only | 6 months to 4 years | 3 coached activities a week, no account | £9.99 a month or £29.99 a year, 7-day free trial |
| The Happy Child | Parent only | No age range stated | Whole app is free | Free, no in-app purchases |
| The Wonder Weeks | Parent only | First 20 months | Free to download; main features listed under the subscription | Several App Store prices, from £1.49 a month |
| Kinedu | Parent only | Pregnancy to 6 years | Limited activities, articles, milestones, baby tracker | Several App Store prices, £3.99 to £59.99; 7-day free trial |
| Lovevery | Parent only | 0 to 36 months (app store listing; help centre says up to 30 months) | 28-day free trial of the app | Included with Play Kits: £80 or £120 per kit |
| Pathways.org Baby Milestones | Parent only | Mainly birth to 3 | Whole app is free | Free |
| CBeebies Parenting | Parent (website) | Pregnancy to 5 years | Everything is free | Free |
| Tovi | Parent (web app) | 0 to 5 years | Two activities each morning and the full library | Paid tier free for first 500 members; later price not stated |
| BabySparks | Parent only | 0 to 3 years | Sample activities and milestones | App Store lists £3.99 to £29.99, plans not named |
Prices and features checked November 2026 from each app’s own website and the UK App Store. They can change, so check before you subscribe.
How we picked and grouped these apps
Parenting apps do very different jobs, so comparing them on one scale isn’t much help. Instead, we’ve grouped them by the three needs parents mention most: understanding your child, finding play ideas and keeping track of development. Some apps cover more than one, and we’ve said so.
For each app, we checked its own website and UK App Store page at the time of writing (November 2026): who uses the screen, what ages it covers, what you get free and what it costs in the UK. Mooshie is our app, so it appears first, but every entry has a fair “best for”. We left out apps aimed mainly at older children, and we only state what each company says publicly.
Our picks, one by one
1. Mooshie Moments
Best for: Play ideas: screen-free activities and help with hard moments, 6 months to 4 years
Mooshie answers the question parents ask most often: what can we do right now? It picks from 5,918 activities based on your child’s age, the time you have and the mood of the day, and most need nothing or household bits. Lifesavers help with tantrums, separation anxiety, sleep regression and picky eating, and you can add additional needs such as autism, ADHD or a motor delay so unsuitable activities are filtered out. Your child’s details stay on your phone. It is a newer app with fewer reviews than others here, and is iPhone only for now.
2. The Happy Child
Best for: Understanding your child: free daily lessons on parenting approach
The Happy Child gives you short daily lessons drawn from psychology, neuroscience and paediatrics, with videos and quizzes along the way. It is completely free with no in-app purchases, and parents rate it very highly (4.9 on both the UK App Store and Google Play). It is about how you parent rather than what to play, so it has no age-specific activities.
3. The Wonder Weeks
Best for: Understanding your child: making sense of unsettled phases in the first 20 months
The Wonder Weeks predicts 10 mental leaps from your baby’s due date and sends a notification when one is about to start, so a grumpy week feels less of a mystery. It comes from a long-running bestselling book, has a diary, partner linking and a forum, and includes 77 play ideas. Leap timings don’t fit every baby, and the app stops at 20 months.
4. Kinedu
Best for: Development tracking: a paid all-in-one programme from pregnancy to 6
Kinedu combines a personalised activity plan with milestone tracking, progress reports, expert classes, 750+ articles and a baby tracker for feeds, sleep and nappies. Activities come as short videos, and you can share the account and add up to five babies on Premium. That breadth means more time in the app for you, and most of the content sits behind the subscription.
5. Lovevery
Best for: Play ideas: guidance for families using Lovevery Play Kits
Lovevery’s app gives week-by-week guidance, monthly notes on what your child may be working on and play ideas for every Play Kit toy, with some DIY activities too. Its Ask Lovevery section answers common questions on sleep, feeding and brain development. After 28 free days, the full app is for active Play Kits subscribers, with kits costing £80 (0 to 12 months) or £120 (1 to 4 years) each.
6. Pathways.org Baby Milestones
Best for: Development tracking: free, video-backed milestone checks
Pathways is a free milestone app from a US non-profit, with real-baby videos showing each milestone, 300+ play activities and trackers for tummy time, feeds and nappies. You can share progress with a partner, grandparents or your baby’s healthcare provider, and it is available in 21 languages. Its milestones follow US guidance, so lean on your health visitor and NHS information for UK checks.
7. CBeebies Parenting (formerly BBC Tiny Happy People)
Best for: Understanding your child and play ideas: free, from the BBC
CBeebies Parenting is now home to everything that was on BBC Tiny Happy People: talking tips, age-banded activities from pregnancy to 5, nursery rhymes, articles and downloadable sheets, all free. It is UK-made, with Welsh-language content too. It is a website rather than an app, so there is no personal plan or progress tracking.
8. Tovi
Best for: Play ideas: free Montessori-inspired suggestions in your browser
Tovi is a web app rather than an App Store download. Each morning it suggests two age-matched activities for children aged 0 to 5, and the free plan includes its full library of 3,000+ activities, family sharing and offline mode. It comes from a small, early-stage team, the price of its paid tier after the founding offer isn’t stated, and we found no independent reviews yet.
9. BabySparks
Best for: Development tracking and play: a low-cost video programme for under-3s
BabySparks pairs a daily activity programme, where each activity has a video tutorial, with milestone tracking and weekly development reports. Premium adds unlimited online parenting classes and unlimited use of its AI assistant, Ava. It covers 0 to 3 years, and the free version offers sample activities only.
Understanding your child
Sometimes you don’t need an activity, you need to know why your child is acting the way they are. Three options help here:
- The Happy Child for short, free lessons on your own approach.
- The Wonder Weeks for babies under 20 months who seem to go through sudden unsettled spells.
- CBeebies Parenting for free articles on child development from a UK source.
Mooshie also has a part to play: each activity’s Brain Bit explains what the play does for your child, and Lifesavers give ideas for tantrums and bedtime battles. For more on the toughest days, read our guide to toddler tantrums.
Play ideas you can use today
If your main need is “what do we do next?”, look at Mooshie, Tovi, Lovevery and BabySparks. The differences are mostly about format and cost:
- Mooshie is an iPhone app with a free tier and a suggestion that fits your time and your child’s mood.
- Tovi is free in a web browser, with two ideas each morning.
- Lovevery works best if you own its Play Kits.
- BabySparks suits parents who like a video to follow.
You can also browse our Montessori activities and independent play ideas without any app.
Try Mooshie free this week.
3 coached activities every week, free. No account, no toys to buy, and your child never touches the screen.
Development tracking without the worry
Pathways and Kinedu are the most tracking-focused apps here, with BabySparks also offering milestones and weekly reports. Mooshie takes a lighter approach: its Growth tab shows development over time, and the journal saves a note and photo of what your child did. Trackers can be reassuring, but they can also make you anxious if your child is a little behind a chart.
Remember that every child develops at their own pace. If anything in an app worries you, talk to your health visitor or GP rather than relying on a score.
Parents and experts on Mooshie
“I used to spend 30 minutes looking for an activity on Pinterest, get overwhelmed, and just turn on the TV. Mooshie takes 5 seconds.”
“Finally, an app that tells me to put my phone away. The activities are actually doable with stuff I have in my junk drawer.”
“As a pediatric OT, I love that these activities build core developmental skills without feeling like ‘homework’ for parents.”
Questions parents ask
What is the best parenting app in the UK?
It depends on what you need. The Happy Child is a highly rated free app for parenting lessons, Kinedu is an all-in-one paid development app, and CBeebies Parenting is the best free UK source. For screen-free play ideas for 6 months to 4 years, we recommend Mooshie Moments.
Are there free parenting apps?
Yes. The Happy Child and Pathways.org Baby Milestones are completely free, CBeebies Parenting is a free BBC website and Tovi offers a free plan in your browser. Mooshie Moments has a free tier with 3 coached activities a week and no account needed.
Are any of these parenting apps made in the UK?
CBeebies Parenting comes from the BBC and is backed by UK partners such as the Institute of Health Visiting. Most of the other apps here come from companies based in the US or elsewhere, so check whether any milestone guidance follows US or NHS advice. Mooshie Moments is on the UK App Store now, with the US coming.
Is Tovi an app?
Tovi is a web app that you open in a browser. We didn’t find it on the App Store or Google Play. Its free plan gives you two activities each morning and its full library.
Do I need a parenting app at all?
No. Many parents manage perfectly well without one. An app is most useful when it saves you time or gives you confidence, so try a free version first and only pay if you find yourself using it.
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