Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Wilkey Oh
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Kids can get creative with messages as parents monitor.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Maily: Your Kids' First Email
What's It About?
Once parents set up MAILY: YOUR KIDS' FIRST EMAIL, kids can access the app's simple interface for composing messages. A creation toolbar at the bottom of the screen lets kids choose stationery, add stamps, take a photo with the device's camera, and use the paintbrush, pencil, and eraser tools. The speech bubble button on the top left takes kids to their inbox. After they finish creating an email, kids tap the envelope button on the top right to choose a contact (listed with nickname and profile pic) and send their message.
Is It Any Good?
The strength of Maily: Your Kids' First Email lies in its kid-friendly design and safety features. It gives young kids a protected space to learn about and experiment with what is now a commonplace form of communication. The image-based navigation and interface makes emailing understandable to pre-readers and early readers. Kids can practice writing, reading, and creativity as they send and receive messages. And parents can use Maily as a way to introduce kids to online behavior and ethics.
We anticipate Maily to improve with future updates. As it is now, the set up process is somewhat clunky, and the default settings are not the safest option. Parents will need to manually select the option to screen all email. Also, parents can only set up an account for one kid; the workaround is to set up multiple parent accounts (one for each kid) and log out and back in to switch. Finally, it would be nice if kids could include video, audio, or animations in their messages. For parents interested in an age-appropriate and safe online communication tool for young kids, Maily fits the bill.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Help kids understand online safety with parallels to real-world safety lessons they already know, such as being cautious of strangers.
Encourage kids to use the pencil tool to write messages. They will love the drawing tools and stickers, but Maily can also help with writing skills.
Adjust your settings to screen kids' incoming mail.
App Details
- Device : iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : reading , writing
- Skills : Tech Skills : digital creation , using and applying technology , Creativity : imagination , making new creations , Communication : multiple forms of expression
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : August 6, 2012
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Goodnews.is
- Version : 1.1.1
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.3 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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