ABC Fun is an educational game designed by psychologists for toddlers and preschoolers.

Free 30-day trial version of the game is available from Cnet downloads.

About the game 

To use the game, instruct your child to press letter keys on the keyboard. Your child will be delighted to see images and animations and hear interesting sounds. She will quickly learn to use the keyboard. While interacting with the game she will also learn the alphabet, improve hand-eye coordination and learn a few new words while having fun in the process.

To make it even more interesting for your child, you can add your own content. For example you can add photos of your family members and record yourself saying their names (e.g. "M is for mommy" or "J is for uncle John").

Another way to use the game is to ask your child to find something. For example ask him where the panda is. You may show him the first few times, but soon the child will press the correct key when asked to find an object or an animal.

The game can also be played using the mouse or a touchpad. You need to click on the letters on the screen to play. However this is usually too complicated for younger children, so keyboard may be more appropriate for them. If you have a touch screen computer, your child can press letters directly on the screen instead of using a mouse.

As with all computer use, the child should be supervised and time spent on the computer should be limited, especially for very young children.

 

Customizing the game

One of the advantages of this game is that it can be fully customized to suit your child. You can easily replace or append the generic content by adding images of special interest to your child. For example, you can add images of your family members, pets, your child's favorite toys, foods, etc. You can also replace audio content with your own narration that your child will better respond to. The original content is in English, but you can add content in other languages to make this a first step towards learning a foreign language. By varying the game’s content, you will enrich your child’s experience and ensure his sustained interest in the game. The complexity of the content can also be gradually increased to suit your developing child.

See the support section for details on how to add your own content.