Toca Boca's colourful, psychedelic graphics are not a million miles away from the design of Talking Angela, the app that fell victim to a Facebook hoax in February that paedophiles were scripting the creature's questions.

It's difficult to know as a parent what's helpful and what's harmful. Vera pipes up: ' Candy Crush is fun!' Me: 'When have you ever played Candy Crush?' (I have never played it and don't have it on my phone.) 'On Auntie Trudy's phone.' (That's my sister.) She turns back to the sloth. But then you look at the app store and think: 'How is it addressing these types of play?' Everything in the app store is in the last category – games and books. 'Most children like all five types of play. Toca Boca divides children's activities into five categories: active play (sport), make-believe, manipulative play (building stuff), creative play (drawing) and learning play (books and games). Jeffery explains that it is just supposed to be fun. Is there something I'm not getting? The company headquarters in Sweden should have the answer. In a world where everyone is worried about shoot 'em up games and stranger danger, these cartoon cakes, robot nurses and smiley butterflies seem innocuous. My two youngest children, Vera and Jack, three, are captivated by the games. Toca Tailor Fairy Tales: a dress up game.

Free toca boca apps