Playing house, iPhone style

Now that you've all got those shiny new iPhones and iPod touches for the holidays (or at least a few million of you do), it's time to start loading up on apps for the kids. A good place to start is our editors' picks for best kids' apps of the year, sorted by age. But I've just found another one to add for your young kids that's all about creative play and imagination.

 

The My PlayHome app is just lovely--a perfectly rendered digital dollhouse. Or, uh, playhouse, for those of you with boys who would love this, but not the name dollhouse. (Smart move on developer Shimon Young's part.)

As you move around the house, you can bring your characters (mom, dad, sister, brother, baby) into various rooms and engage with the environment. There are lots of surprises and opportunities for discovery and manipulation--blocks you can stack, lights to turn on and off, a table to set, a basketball to bounce on someone's head. My four year-old is riveted and yet my first-grader said, "I didn't realize how much fun this would be!"

Little hands will manage fine on an iPhone, but obviously the bigger screen size of a tablet has its advantages. And the mellow music and sound effects won't drive you too crazy, even when the kids have been playing for an hour. Provided they don't find the "boom box" in one of the rooms.

The standard liberal caveats apply: This is definitely a white, heteronormative family with two parents. I hope in future upgrades, you can choose your family and maybe even traits like skin color or clothing. But only because this app is so much fun, I want more kids to be able to enjoy it without that stuff getting in the way.

Although truth be told, it does look like mom is dressed for work and the dad is a stay-at-home type. Or hey, maybe he just works in tech. -Liz

My PlayHome app is available at the iTunes store for $2.99. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPhone Touch.

Find More: Apps apps and more apps, Apps for kids, Preschoolers and Little Kids