Making an iPhone Even More Child-Friendly

Here are four storage solutions designed to make your iPhone-size devices more toddler-friendly.

HappiTaps (shown, $20; infantino.com) is by far the most innovative approach. It turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a cheerful bear’s face. Slip it inside this plush holder; download a free app called Beary Happi and presto, you have a square-headed rattle that you can clip to your belt or stroller. It now talks, tells silly jokes, and knows when it is being swung around. The app is well designed, with hidden controls that let you customize the bear’s personality. Additional stories, songs and features are sold as an in-app purchase.

Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case ($15; fisher-price.com) is the most durable of the bunch. The hard plastic case is designed to appeal to a teething baby especially eager to bite your iPhone or iPod Touch. After you start your app of choice, you lock your device inside the case. The screen and home button are now protected behind a drool-proof clear plastic shield. To change an app — or take a call from your boss — you have to undo a quarter-size screw on the back. The easy-to-grasp handles have four loops, and there is a mirror on the back. Ages 6-36 months.

Woogie 2 ($20, Griffin Technologies; griffintechnology.com) is a five-legged, plush smartphone holder that can work with an iPhone device or Android phone, and makes no effort to block the home button. Unlike the original Woogie, there is no internal speaker, so a pair of headphones may be required, especially when it is used in a car. The five legs bend easily and are weighted with pellets, making the screen easy to prop up for watching a movie. The accompanying app, called Sesame Street Sampler turns the Woogie into a narrated storybook reader, with additional titles sold as an in-app purchase. Ages 2-up.

BubCap ($5 for a set of four; papercliprobot.com) addresses the nagging issue, how do you keep your toddler’s busy fingers from pressing the home button on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and changing apps, or making a call? BubCap is a rigid plastic cap that sticks to the screen with a strong adhesive. About the size of a guitar pick, the caps are rigid enough to deter toddlers from pressing the home button, but flexible enough to allow an adult to activate the home button with a very firm press. There are three models that vary in their rigidity, depending on the willpower of your toddler.