Fun with Tiggly Shapes – a re-review at 18 months

We got Tiggly Shapes a little early on in Maggie’s life. She was too young to grasp the concept then, but loved the chewable soft rubber toys. At 18 months things have started to happen.

In proper use

Only at about 18 months has she learned that a shape is the key to unlock an action. Before this, Tiggly Shapes apps were mostly a way to get the iPad near so she could whack the button and move things around.

While she’s still not completely dead set on the concept, and can’t quite tell the star from the circle, she’s more or less getting how this works and how to interact physical to virtual.

In 18-month old use

With Tiggly Shapes, and 18 months under her belt Maggie has learned that if she moves her fingers around long enough that eventually she’ll unlock the next required shape (Tiggly Shapes use three conductive contact points that mimic finger presses.) She’s learned that it’s easier to cheat to get the reward than it is to match the shape.

That oddly might be the most interesting accomplishment so far – lazy cheating. I mean matching shapes is cool and all, but my baby’s figured out how to beat the system without lifting an arm.

Above: Not maggie playing with the shapes on an iPad with no protection

My guess is this is just a phase and she’ll start back with the shapes more soon. She’s just been overjoyed to cheat like a crazy baby.

Overall

I’ll be doing more followups on this as she grows, and I’ll be following the Tiggly Counts the same way (once again she’s too young for these,) but for right now the Shapes are worth what I would have paid for them (I got mine as a review unit).

If you’re of the sound opinion that a screen isn’t a dangerous piece of mind-destroying equipment bent on sucking the creativity and spark out of your baby, and would like to see your child interact with physical tools on a virtual environment, Tiggly Shapes is an excellent starting point if you’ve got an iPad hanging around.

You can grab Tiggly Shapes for $29.95 on Amazon. It’s worth it. The suggested age range is 18 months to four years currently.