Kinder Surprise launches new app, teaming up with digital wellbeing expert to reveal the ultimate holiday hacks for New Zealand parents

To celebrate the launch of Applaydu, a free, edutainment app by Kinder Surprise, the iconic brand has partnered with digital wellbeing expert, Dr. Kristy Goodwin to reveal its top holiday hacks for pandemic-fatigued parents these school holidays.

From getting creative with popsicle sticks to having fun with numbers in the kitchen, growing your very own herb garden or finding ways to gamify life and reinvent everyday items, Kinder’s Holiday Hacks will help keep parents sane and kids engaged at home.

Dr. Kristy Goodwin commented, “Finding activities throughout the school holidays that support learning is getting harder, with both restrictions and changes in travel plans resulting in restless children and often exhausted parents. My favourite hack is cooking with my kids. They’re often learning an array of maths and reading skills in a playful and meaningful context.

“Additionally, edutainment apps, such as Applaydu, are a valuable tool for parents as they encourage play, learning and development, while offering parents much needed downtime. In addition to lightening the load for parents across the break, well-designed mobile gaming apps can offer technology opening up the world while families are stuck at home.”

Applaydu - edutainment for the whole family

Applaydu was developed with Gameloft for brands, with academic feedback provided by University of Oxford’s Department of Education. Designed for children from four to nine years old, but fun for the whole family, Applaydu provides an unbranded experience and is designed to foster bonding time as parents and their children can play and discover together.

Within the app, the environments, characters and stories are built to spark their imagination and stimulate children’s ability to learn new things - through games, interactive stories, activities and more.

It can be used with - or without - Kinder Surprise toys, but for the best experience, players can bring their Kinder Surprise friends to life through augmented reality and dive into a fun and colourful universe, embarking on adventures, taking on challenges and exploring new worlds.

It provides a family friendly, safe and controlled environment, free from ads and in-app purchases, and includes Parental Control features such as activities reports and adaptive difficulty to ensure complete peace of mind for parents.

Applaydu can be downloaded now for free from the App Store or Google Play and is compatible with all Android and iOS devices starting from Android 4.4 and iOS 12.

Kinder’s Holiday Hacks

1. Create a popsicle activity jar so you never run out of kid-friendly fun! Simply write different activities on each stick [plus any chores!]. Each day the kids can select a new activity… from building a pillow fort or reading a book, to washing the car - every day is a surprise!
2. Next time you’re in the kitchen, get the little ones involved! Use number or letter cookie cutters to practice while you eat… From maths with fruit to spelling with cookies, learning has never been so much fun!
3. Did you know gaming apps can aid a child’s learning progression? Kinder Applaydu is a new educational experience which teaches maths, motor skills, reading, writing and more. It’s free from the App Store and can be enjoyed by the whole family… Plus it works with some delicious treats - Kinder Surprise!
4. Sick of buying expensive herbs? Grab an empty egg carton and some seeds, and the little ones can grow their very own herb garden! Not only will this teach kids where food comes from and what plants need to survive, they’ll love watching their herbs grow big enough to eat!
5. Is the recycling building up? Then your kids’ next activity is sorted! Get them painting empty egg cartons, cereal boxes and any other cardboard. Kids love the interesting shapes and textures and you save on buying more paper!
6. When floors are dirty, call out “Magic Scrap!” and get the kids to search for it, picking up the rubbish on the floor constantly asking, ‘is this it?’ before collecting all the rubbish. The clever trick just chose the actual magic scrap when the floor is nearly all clean.
7. For outdoor play lay down a big sheet of plastic on the grass or even a shower curtain. Then, make a bucket of warm soapy water and give the kids sponges, little brooms and mops and ask them to clean it. Lots of slipping and sliding fun for all!
8. Hide 5 of their favourite toys - making sure to write them down so you don’t forget - and the first one to find them all wins. As a timekeeper you can lounge on the couch while the rest of the family continues the search!
9. Create fun for the whole family with a nightly dance party. Everyone gets to pick 1 song each but to enjoy the game they need to do as they are told! From having a bath, getting into their PJs or eating their veggies!
10. Take a small treat, like a couple of Kinder Surprise Eggs, and wrap them in wrapping paper. Then, give it to the kids and ask them to wrap it neatly in more paper or even the latest newspaper. Then it’s time to unwrap. It’s like an extended game of pass the parcel with a tasty treat at the end.
11. Looking for some more outdoor fun? Spin a ball of wool around branches in the garden or any other items you have to make a “spider web” obstacle course fit for the whole family.
12. Double the fun and bonus pocket money. Simply throw (or hide) some 10 cent coins (or higher value if you feel generous) in the garden and whatever they can find they can keep. Kerching!

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