As a mom who grew up with the 2002 original, I genuinely couldn’t be more excited to share it with my kids.
My three-year-old spotted Stitch on the screen and let out a shriek of joy. She grabbed my hand, pulled me over to the tablet, and the two of us spent the next twenty minutes searching for hidden letters on a Hawaiian beach together. She didn’t know she was learning. She just knew she was playing with Stitch.
That moment captures everything I love about the latest addition to the Lingokids app. This week, Lingokids launched nine new Lilo & Stitch activities as part of its Disney Collection. It’s a big win for families with little ones in the toddler and preschool years.
Ohana means family, and quality time together
I was eight years old when the original Lilo & Stitch movie came out in 2002. Those themes of belonging and unconditional love have followed me into motherhood.
At three, my daughter is a little too young for the live-action movie that came out last summer (which I also adore), and even the animated original is a bit much for her right now. She’s still at more of a Ms. Rachel stage than Disney canon, but she has a Stitch plushie and knows the character is a favorite of mine.
When Stitch popped up on Lingokids this week, it gave us a new arena to play in. Getting to share the world of Lilo & Stitch with my daughter is one of those sweet parenting moments you just have to stop and savor.
The activities are designed for young children with gentle play that quietly builds foundational skills along the way. A few examples of what little ones get to do:
- Search for hidden letters on the beach and in the rainforest to start forming words
- Trace words in the sand alongside Lilo to practice early writing skills
- Pilot an alien hovercraft through Hawaii, counting flowers, starfish, and shells
- Stretch, exercise, and rinse off with Stitch — building healthy habits through movement and counting
New skills, new fans
Lilo & Stitch was one of the most-requested additions from Lingokids families, which makes a lot of sense. The app already features Moana, Frozen, Mickey and Friends, Zootopia, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Disney Pixar’s Cars. Lingokids says the activities in their Disney Collection have been played more than 250 million times since launching last fall.
I don’t doubt it. When my daughter gets screentime (potty is still a big one for us right now), she has asked for Lingokids every day since Stitch arrived on the platform. An added bonus is that she seems to have forgotten about the weird toy unboxing videos she saw on YouTube at a relative’s house and that I had been trying to convince her we can’t get on our tablet.
To me, this is a better fandom. I don’t need my daughter to be a fan of YouTubers. I (perhaps selfishly) want her to love the classic kids’ movies I love. And it’s great that she’s learning about these characters with games developed specifically for her age group on a highly controlled app that doesn’t have any ads.
“More than half of kids on our platform ask to watch shows and movies of the characters they encounter,” confirms Lingokids Global VP of Brand Maud Cariddi.
For kids like mine who haven’t seen the movies yet, Lingokids might be the beginning of a lifelong love of Lilo & Stitch. Here’s hoping.