Think getting an iPod touch for your two year old is extravagant?  This mom doesn’t.  My son has been using his iPod Touch for 4 months now and it was probably the best educational investment I have made for our son thus far.

When I first found out about the iPod Touch, I didn’t think I needed one, since I don’t really care to have my music and videos with me all of the time, and certainly wasn’t going to pay $200- $300 for just that.  However, one day, my darling hubby came home saying that he really could use an mp3 player for his med school classes.  I then began to research mp3 players on Amazon.com and came across the iPod Touch.  The price was high, but there was a $100 credit for signing up for Audible, which is an audio book service by Amazon.com that costs $14.95 per month and includes one free audio book per month.  I read that you could create documents, surf the internet, check email, and store 30+ gb of video on it.  After much comparison (I think it took me 3 days to decide), I ordered the iPod Touch for Joe.  When it arrived, my hubby wasn’t home, so I hurriedly opened the package myself.  After all, I had done all of the research and needed to know if I had done well.

The iPod was enclosed in a space-age like plastic case, which required a little thought to open (at least I thought so).  It felt good in my hand and I had the feeling that I was holding something very special.  The directions stated that the iPod only needed to be plugged in for 30 minutes to charge.  This made me happy since I couldn’t wait to turn it on. 

Needless to say, I had to have one of these gizmos myself.  So, I ordered my very own 32 gb iPod Touch from Amazon.com (who had a slightly lower price than the apple store). 

After listening to my first ever audio book downloaded from the Audible site, I started looking through the available apps from the apple apps store.  While I did find a lot of very interesting free applications for myself, I couldn’t help noticing an overwhelming number of toddler apps, which ranged in price from FREE to $4.99 each.  Considering the hefty price tag attached to video games and software, apps are by far the most economical way to go.

I downloaded as many neat little apps for myself as I could find, then I started getting an app a day for our 2 year old son to play with.  Right off the bat, our little one was quizzing himself on numbers, letters and shapes.  In the Toddler Teasers app, he even guessed which shape was a hexagon, oval, heart, triangle, and square out of eight different choices!  This impressed me, but I was ever so worried about him breaking my precious IPod touch, since it was my only self- indulgent splurge of this magnitude in years.  That’s when I got an idea; a wonderful, insane idea.  Our son would need an iPod touch of his own!

Once we decided our 2 year old son needed an ipod touch for himself, we also knew that we would definitely not be able to buy him a new one, since they are so expensive and that would make us certifiably insane parents.  So, we started researching used iPod touches on Ebay.com. 

After a couple of days of losing auctions to last minute bidders, I finally found a buy-it-now auction for a used first generation iPod touch for under $100.  The description said that it was in great condition so I jumped on it.  When the iPod Touch came in the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in the original box with book, charger, and headphones, and didn’t have a scratch on it!  So now, our 2 year old son has his very own iPod touch.  The only thing is that his first generation iPod needs an external speaker/mic, which I found on eBay for $7.  Not a biggie.

Now, our son’s iPod is completely full of educational games, videos, and podcasts.  There are coloring applications, phonics applications, flash cards, memory and matching games, applications to teach colors, shapes, numbers, letters, and even healthy foods, Dr. Seuss books, and much, much more. 

Even Fisher Price has put out three great apps for children’s iPod touch and iPhone.  First are the see-n-say app and the chatter telephone, which resembles the real toy.  The other app from Fisher price is the Little People Farm app, which our little boy loves since one of his favorite toys is the Little People Farm.

Basically, for the money, you can’t beat the value of the iPod touch for an electronic learning toy.  I have not seen anything that can do so many things in my life.  If you need justification to get your child an iPod touch, just get it for yourself and let your kid use it every now and then.  It’s a wonderful tool in restaurants too!  Our son is the most well behaved child anywhere we go and that is partially thanks to the iPod touch.  It’s not a babysitter, but it is a very interesting device that holds his attention and teaches him so many things. 

Many people will worry that giving their child such a device to keep occupied while at a restaurant (after everyone is done eating and they are BORED) will keep the child from learning to entertain himself.  This has proven to be unwarranted worrying in our home.  Our child has a wonderful imagination, is very social, and is quite advanced for his age.  The educational games for the iPod aren’t work for him.  He begs to play them and he is able to choose which game he wants to play and when.  We feel that this will give him added advantages, as he is able to make choices and is learning about technology at such a young age.

Here is a list of the best apps we have found so far for our son.  You can search for them in the apps store if you want.

Update 11/16/2011:

Our son is still using his IPod touch each and every day.  Every time a new movie comes out, he gets to download a game based off the movie.  Usually, this is free in the app store.

Antonio also has every Dr. Seuss book and phonics on his IPod.  When he outgrows an app, we just erase it from the ipod.  If we are lucky enough to expand our family someday, then our new baby can use the apps, since you own them forever.  You can buy a nice used IPod touch on Ebay for around $100.  It is an amazing value.

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Limited Time Offer - Get Your First 3 Months at Audible for $7.49/month!