Keyboard Bash Toddler keyboard smash game

What it is

A play toy for ages about 2 to 4 on a computer, tablet or phone. Every key, click or tap makes something big and colourful appear with a soft sound, and then it gently fades away:

• Letter keys show their letter and number keys their number. Each key always plays its own note.
• Space and Enter bring a friendly animal: a cat, dog, bear, frog, chick or bunny.
• Every other key, and every tap, makes a shape with a smiley face.

There's nothing to win or lose: no timer, no score, no levels, no reading needed. It's a toy for fun, and we don't claim it teaches anything.

Getting out (grown-ups)

• Press and hold the lock button in the top corner for 3 seconds, with one finger, until the ring fills. On a keyboard, hold Esc on its own for 3 seconds. Quick taps on the lock do nothing, and neither does a hold with a second finger down or another key pressed.
• The grown-ups menu has the volume, full screen, sharing, more toys and Stop playing.
• While a child plays, the rest of this page is switched off, scrolling is blocked and the page catches key presses before the browser acts on most of them. Links on this page also ask for a 3-second hold before they open.

What no web page can block

Play full screen helps. In Chrome and Edge on a computer it also turns on keyboard lock, which lets the page catch more browser shortcuts (such as the ones that close or open tabs) and makes Esc a press-and-hold to leave full screen. Depending on the system it may catch app-switching keys too.

But a web page can't block everything. Ctrl+Alt+Delete, the power button and the home and app-switch gestures on phones and tablets always work. On phones and tablets, the browser's own address bar, tabs and back buttons stay tappable unless full screen hides them (full screen isn't available on iPhone). Without keyboard lock (Safari, Firefox, or any browser when not in full screen), keys like Cmd+Tab, Alt+Tab, Cmd+W and Ctrl+W still work too. If something tries to close or leave the page while a child is playing, most browsers ask "Leave site?" first (Safari on iPhone doesn't). To keep a phone or tablet in the browser, use the settings below.

Keep a phone or tablet on this toy

These settings keep the device in your browser app. The browser's own address bar and buttons would still work, so the steps below also switch them off (iPhone and iPad) or hide them (Android).

iPhone and iPad: Guided Access

1. Open Settings › Accessibility › Guided Access and turn on Guided Access.
2. Tap Passcode Settings and set a Guided Access passcode.
3. Open this page in Safari and triple-click the side button (the top button on iPad, or the Home button on older models). Before you tap Start, circle Safari's address bar and toolbar with one finger so they stop responding to touch, then tap Start.
4. To finish: triple-click the same button, enter your passcode and tap End.

Android: app pinning

1. In Settings, find App pinning and turn it on. It's under Security (on some phones Security & privacy › More security settings, or Security › Advanced); the exact place depends on the phone maker.
2. Open this page in your browser, then swipe up to the middle of the screen and hold (or tap the Overview button) to see your open apps.
3. Tap the browser's icon at the top of its preview, then tap Pin.
4. To unpin: swipe up and hold, or with buttons, touch and hold Back and Overview (Back and Home on two-button phones) together. Enter your PIN if asked.

App pinning keeps the phone in your browser, but the browser's address bar and buttons still work. Tap Play full screen as well, which hides them (pressing Back leaves full screen and brings them back).

Screen time

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests limited screen time for children aged 2 to 5, ideally shared with a grown-up who plays or watches along. Its parenting site has practical advice: HealthyChildren.org on children and media.

Privacy

Nothing leaves your device. There are no accounts, cookies, ads, analytics or tracking, and nothing is saved on your device, not even the volume. The page's security policy only lets it load files from this website, and once it has loaded it makes no network requests at all. There's no microphone or camera.

Sound

Sounds start quiet, and the grown-ups menu has a volume slider (it goes back to the quiet default on each visit). A palm on several keys, or several fingers on the screen, sounds about as loud as one key: at most three notes play, and they share one key's volume. Fast mashing gets a little louder, not a lot. Every sound is made live by your browser: no recordings, no voices. On an iPhone, silent mode mutes it.