I want to build apps for kids
Kids app development company
Create digital products that young people actually want to use. We combine deep understanding of youth audiences with co-design research and evidence-based approaches. We know how to build for kids. You know your subject matter. We work together.
School-Based Products
Educational tools designed for classroom adoption and curriculum alignment
- Co-design with children, teachers, and subject matter experts from day one
- Evidence-based approaches: Bestlife increased children’s physical activity by 70 minutes per week
- Teacher dashboards, progress tracking, and accessibility compliance
- Gamified learning that boosts engagement without sacrificing educational outcomes
Home Learning Apps
Consumer-facing apps for families on iOS and Android
- Co-design research with children and parents to build products kids actually want to use
- Behaviour change science embedded into design: Embers reduced clinical concern levels from 75% to 2%
- Parent controls, progress reporting, and tools that bridge kids’ play with actionable guidance
- Subscription and freemium models that work: Hooked on Phonics helped 5M+ children learn through play
See it in action
How we build apps for kids
As a kids app developer, our approach has been refined over ten years through projects with clients including LEGO and the NHS. Three phases. Each one builds on the last.
Understand the problem
It starts with understanding how things work today. We go into schools, homes, and clinical settings to observe how people accomplish what they are trying to do. How practitioners work with young people. How children learn to read. How families manage behaviour at home.
We use Jobs To Be Done to map these: the outcome someone is trying to achieve, the steps they currently take, and where the friction is. Jobs To Be Done focuses on the outcome someone is trying to achieve, not the features a product should have. It keeps the design anchored to real needs.
At the same time, we capture the broader business model. What will parents pay for? What does the route to market look like? What assumptions need to be true for this to work? These are captured alongside the product design and tested through the same research sessions, updated as we learn, and fed back into successive prototypes.
Design for behaviour
BJ Fogg's behaviour model shows that three things need to come togetherfor a behaviour to happen: sufficient motivation, sufficient ability, and a prompt. As product designers, we cannot reliably change someone's motivation. But we can materially change how easy it is. And we can design better prompts.
Uber did not make more people want taxis. It made getting one easier in dozens of ways: order from your phone, no calling a dispatcher, no need for cash, you can see the car arriving. Each of those removed a barrier for people who were already motivated enough.
We apply the same thinking to products for young audiences. A child who wants to learn to read but finds it boring will not persist. A child who finds it playful and rewarding will. The motivation exists. Our job is to make the behaviour easier and the experience more engaging.
Build, test, iterate
We build interactive prototypes and put them in front of real users within days. AI accelerated development means we produce working prototypes in one to two days, not weeks. Children interact with something that responds, moves, and feels real. Not a static mockup or a wireframe walkthrough.
We run co-design sprints every two to three weeks throughout development. We observe how children and practitioners interact with each prototype, capture what engages them and what does not, and feed that directly into the next version. Ethnographic methods, in context observation, and structured play sessions are part of how we gather insight. Assumptions from the business model are tested alongside the product design.
This loop runs until the product is validated. Embers the Dragon went through design summits with children, caregivers, and parents. Clinical trials showed a reduction in families above clinical thresholds from 75% to 2%. Bestlife was co-designed with school focus groups and clinicians. Children increased their physical activity by 70 minutes per week.
Understand the problem
We go into schools, homes, and clinical settings to observe how people accomplish what they are trying to do. We use Jobs To Be Done to map the outcome someone is trying to achieve, the steps they currently take, and where the friction is.
At the same time, we capture the broader business model. What will parents pay for? What assumptions need to be true? These are tested through the same research sessions and fed back into successive prototypes.
Design for behaviour
BJ Fogg's behaviour model shows that three things need to come together for behaviour to happen: motivation, ability, and a prompt. We focus on making things easier and designing better prompts.
Uber did not make more people want taxis. It made getting one easier in dozens of ways. The motivation exists. Our job is to make the behaviour easier and the experience more engaging.
Build, test, iterate
AI accelerated development means working prototypes in one to two days. Co-design sprints every two to three weeks throughout development. We observe, capture what works, and feed findings into the next version.
Embers the Dragon: clinical trials showed a reduction from 75% to 2%. Bestlife: children increased physical activity by 70 minutes per week.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure what you need?
Most projects blend multiple services. Let's talk about your goals and we'll help you figure out the right approach.