Apps We Love: Toon Goggles

Review by Alexis Crisman Kelly
I was a bit skeptical when I first glanced through the Toon Googles app, especially when I realized that there was no “brand name” content to view. Read: You won't find episodes of Doc McStuffins or Bubble Guppies here. What you will find is hundreds of hours of original content (like MONK Little Dog above) organized around six themes: Boys; Girls; Action; Comedy; Pre-School; and Educational.

Toon Goggles Home Page

There are thousands of hours to choose from so your child will rarely have to watch the same episode twice unless of course she wants too. If that's the case parents (and children) can create accounts where you can save favorite episodes in a Toon Box. This feature also comes in handy if you want to pre-screen/choose the episodes your child watches.

However, you won't really have to worry about this because Toon Goggles is 100% COPPA compliant (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act); it was created with parents and children in mind. All content is pre-screened and guaranteed to be “age appropriate for children under the age of 13.” This means you don't have to worry about what your child is watching if she/he has your phone while you’re in the car or online at Target, because multiple members of the Toon Google team screen each episode in full before it’s posted.

ABC Monsters

The best part about it? Everything is free: the app, creating and maintaining an account, and watching programs. Another plus is that episodes average about fifteen minutes which I find to be the perfect length of time for the combination of my 3-year-old’s attention span and my desire to put time limits on TV watching. I can easily say “only one episode,” and know that it's not going to be a long commitment.

One thing to note is that if your child (under 13) does have their own email address, they can create their own account. I wonder how many children under 13 have their own email address, but I digress. If they do have an email address and create an account, Toon Googles requires a parent’s address to proceed with the account so that Toon Googles can alert the parent that an account has been created. Parents can then end the account if they so choose (Also a nice feature).

Review Summary
App Name: Toon Goggles – Cartoons for Kids by Digital Media Interactive LLC
Category: Entertainment
Updated: August 2, 2012
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.
Price: FREE.
Bottom Line: Quick, free, unique, child-friendly entertainment.

A former editor for Fodor's Travel and New Jersey Monthly magazine, Alexis Crisman Kelly has been working as a freelance editor and writer since 2010. A mother of a 3 year old and 1 year old, Kelly is increasingly aware of the deluge of media options on the market and is on the constant look out for decent, educational, and inexpensive (a.k.a. free) options to entertain and educate her children.