When I tell people that I design iPhone games for preschoolers, some people ask me, "Who would give an iPhone to a preschooler?"  Now usually these people are not parents, or are not into the latest technology like smart phones.  Other people don't question it, because it makes sense to them.  Perhaps they've seen small children on the train, or sitting at a restaurant, playing with Mom or Dad's iPhone.  A lot of people are concerned, as I initially was, that a child would break an iPhone.  But as I and many others have witnessed, children are actually quite careful with the devices.

But a question many of us still have is, "What does a preschooler do with an iPhone?"

Marc Prensky gave his 4 year old son his old iPhone when he upgraded himself to a new one.  He profiled his son's usage of the device in a recent article.   As one might expect, he plays educational games on it.  But he also uses the iPhone as a prop in his imaginative play.  Marc said his son likes to pretend he runs a taxi dispatch service, and he uses the voice recorder to act that out.  That must be adorable, and now Marc could save those recordings on his computer.

Perhaps most notable is how quickly his son tired of the educational games available, which Marc described as activities that included forming letters and recognizing words.  He said his son requested "fun" games like they have on the Nintendo DS.  Designers, take note!  Games should be games, and not activities kids would do sitting at a desk in a classroom.  Even 4 year olds know the difference!  Game designers must catch up.

Picture of 12 month old girl using iPhone courtesy of gnta, shared via Creative Commons.