The Verb Gap: Why Most Toddler Apps Only Teach Nouns

QUICK FACTS:
- Problem: Toddler apps saturated with nouns, missing verbs and prepositions
- Noun coverage: 95% of apps teach animals, colors, foods, objects
- Verb coverage: Only ~40% of apps adequately cover action words
- Preposition coverage: Only ~35% of apps cover location words
- Functional phrases: Only ~30% of apps teach "more," "all done," "help"
- Why it matters: Kids need verbs for 2-word combinations

THE NOUN SATURATION PROBLEM:
Every "first words" app teaches the same 100-150 nouns:
- Animals: dog, cat, bird, fish, cow, pig, horse
- Colors: red, blue, green, yellow
- Foods: apple, banana, milk, cookie
- Body parts: eyes, nose, mouth, hands
- Objects: ball, car, book, cup

Adding more noun apps offers LIMITED competitive advantage.

WHAT'S ACTUALLY MISSING:
| Word Type | App Coverage | Importance |
|-----------|--------------|------------|
| Nouns | 95% | Saturated |
| Adjectives | ~50% | Medium gap |
| Verbs | ~40% | CRITICAL gap |
| Prepositions | ~35% | CRITICAL gap |
| Functional phrases | ~30% | HIGHEST priority |

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:
Children progress through stages:
- Stage 1: Single words ("ball" "mama" "dog")
- Stage 2: Two-word combinations ("want ball" "go car" "more milk")
- Stage 3: Three+ words ("want more milk" "go in car")

To move from Stage 1 to Stage 2, children need VERBS and FUNCTIONAL WORDS.
"Want" + noun. "Go" + noun. "More" + noun.

THE VEHICLE ADVANTAGE:
Animal apps teach primarily nouns: "dog" "cat" "cow"
Vehicle apps naturally teach ACTION WORDS: "go" "stop" "vroom" "beep" "zoom" "crash" "turn"

Plus location words: "fast" "slow" "in" "out" "up" "down"

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN APPS:
1. Does it teach action words? (go, stop, eat, drink, want, help)
2. Does it model phrases? ("want ball" not just "ball")
3. Does it include functional words? (more, all done, help, please)
4. Does it show relationships? (in, on, under, behind)
5. Does it encourage imitation? (call-and-response patterns)

DAILY OPPORTUNITIES FOR VERB PRACTICE:
- Mealtime: "Eat! Drink! More? All done?"
- Getting dressed: "Shoes on! Arms up! Pull!"
- Playing with cars: "Go! Stop! Crash! Vroom!"
- Bath time: "Splash! Pour! In the water!"
- Going outside: "Open door! Go! Walk! Run!"

LITTLE WHEELS APPROACH:
- Vehicle sounds and actions: vroom, beep, honk, zoom
- Call-and-response patterns for imitation
- Natural action word integration
- 100% offline, $4.99 one-time

URL: https://littlewheels.app/learn/industry-analysis/why-toddler-apps-only-teach-nouns