Parents Information Network review Baby Wow!

Baby Wow! receives Gold Award for Children's Software!

(Supported by the Department for Education and Skills)

BabyWOW is a collection of simple activities for very young children based on sets of photographs with captions which can be spoken in different languages. The way a child uses the software is by pressing any key on the keyboard or a mouse button so they can see the next picture and listen to the caption, spoken in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese (Mandarin) or Japanese!

Using this software, a toddler can learn new words; names of colours and shapes; simple numbers; and such basic concepts as near/far, in front/behind, in/out. It contains over 300 images and more than 2000 words. The activities include: Cause and effect; First words; Basic colours; Basic shapes; Names of things; Opposites; Body Parts; Counting; Peekaboo; What is it?; Learning journey.

The software already has a good range of pictures which are well-chosen. In addition, it is possible to add your own pictures which makes it an even better resource for families. The fact that a toddler is able to see themselves and other family members will keep them amused and interested in the activities.

The spoken words are very clear and appropriate, and can be heard in any of the eight languages. "I think a real educational feature of this software is the different languages you can choose. The words are spoken by native speakers, some men and some women. I think it is really good for young children to hear the sounds of other languages as well as the sound of different voices."

There is plenty to chat about with your child all the way through and plenty of games to present a new challenge. A session could be on just one game or activity, or it could be a selection chosen by the ‘Autopilot’ feature, so there is a surprise element for the parent as well. The navigation is designed for the person sitting at the computer with the child and it is clear and easy to use. The parent guide can be accessed from the main menu, along with all the other features of this extremely good program.

There is one feature which is for more advanced users – when your child is able to control the mouse quite well you can switch on the hotspots on screen which means that toddlers have to click on certain areas to make things happen.

The simple design and the immediate feedback as the child presses the keys make this program very engaging. The sessions can be very short and there is a useful ‘time out’ feature where the parent can set the length of the session in advance. This software can be used with any very young child.

There are opportunities for language development as well as fun. By adding your own photographs it becomes a personalised set of games, which would be exciting for most children, and this feature could be very useful for children with certain special educational needs. All in all this is an unusual and well designed piece of software which looks very simple but which could make a big impact on a young child’s language development.