Parents' Guide to

Busy Shapes

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android Paid Education
Busy Shapes Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Amanda Bindel By Amanda Bindel , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 2+

Super-smart playground designed for youngest app users.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 2+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Busy Shapes App: Screenshot #1
  • Busy Shapes App: Screenshot #2
  • Busy Shapes App: Screenshot #3
  • Busy Shapes App: Screenshot #4
  • Busy Shapes App: Screenshot #5

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

Marilyn M.
Marilyn M. Adult
December 16, 2023
age 2+

See all 1 parent review

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What's It About?

BUSY SHAPES starts off with one hole and one object. Kids drag the object into the hole, and then, as if they've fallen into another world, a new object and hole appear in a different setting. The challenge increases, with multiple objects and holes of different shapes, moving objects, obstacles to get around or to move, and finally the need to use tools to move the objects. There’s no direction and no help. Kids must explore and discover on their own how to get the objects into the holes. Play continues until kids stop.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Busy Shapes is smart. The features included that make it toddler-friendly are smart, in particular the use of artificial intelligence to adjust the challenge based on how kids are playing. The design is smart, keeping the screen, the actual "playground," clean and elegant so kids can explore and learn. And the concept is smart: It's not about rote learning such as memorizing shapes or colors or letters; rather, it's about working with the ways kids develop cognitive skills -- for example, exploration -- and letting them discover and manipulate. Even the reports for parents are smart, showing progress for up to 40 users, including how long they played and each concept they explored. Busy Shapes is a refreshing and smart use of technology supported by research.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Playing games such as hide-and-seek and peekaboo with your toddler develops their understanding of object permanence, an important part of sensorimotor development.

  • Beyond the screen, give kids objects to play with and explore: containers and things to put in them; blocks to stack and knock down; textures to feel and explore. Little ones learn through all their senses, including by putting things in their mouths, so allow safe exploration (giving them no objects small enough to go through a toilet-paper tube).

App Details

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