Common Sense Media Review
By Dana Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Powerful, engaging tool can help boost kids' social skills.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Social Adventures
What's It About?
First, tap one of eight icons on the main screen to select what your kid is working on; for example, "Experiencing Humor," or "Interpreting Non-verbals." Then within that choice, tap on an activity, read the directions, and play. The bottom of each screen includes the toolbar with the choices: Return to the main page; view the tools (including the eight-week program guide); view a list of and link to visual cartoon lessons; or play the reward game "What's in the Bag?" Clear arrows or Xs show users how to navigate back to previous pages.
Is It Any Good?
Social Adventures is an excellent resource to teach kids social skills like personal space, non-verbal cues, compromising, initiating social interaction, and more. While very useful for kids with special needs such as those with autism spectrum disorders or other social challenges, almost all kids can learn skills that will make them more socially aware by playing the games and completing the activities on this app with a parent, teacher, or therapist. For the relatively high price, it would be nice for the app to include more support and extension activities, such as message boards to share experience and questions, more promised content areas, videos of parents and kids illustrating how the activities work, etc. It's helpful that the developers created an eight-week program, but it's not essential to follow it in order for Social Adventures to be effective. A treasure.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Complete some of the suggested activities, such as reading the recommended book or watching a YouTube video.
Some of the activities are recommended for groups; if your kid is having a particular problem at school, talk with his or her teacher about using the activity in class.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : following directions , vocabulary
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : asking questions , deduction , Self-Direction : personal growth , Emotional Development : empathy , handling stress , labeling feelings , self-awareness , Communication : friendship building , listening , speaking , Collaboration : cooperation , Responsibility & Ethics : making wise decisions , respect for others
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : September 27, 2012
- Genre : Education
- Character Strengths : Empathy
- Version : 1.3.6
- Minimum software requirements : Requires iOS 8.0 or later.
- Last updated : January 25, 2023
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate