I don’t know about your #BrownBoyGenius, but my son loves technology. He’s practically taken over my iPad—ok, he has—and now he’s got his eye on my laptop. While it’s tempting to let your kiddo occupy himself with your gadgets while you breathe, cook dinner, or get in a few minutes of silence, making sure our boys aren’t using the wrong things is just as important as letting them become tech experts.

According to folks like President Obama and billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, jobs in the future will be all about technology. As a matter of fact, several schools around the country are now teaching coding with many making it mandatory.

So where should your genius begin? I reached out to Brotha Tech to get his take on what applications boys will go CRAZY over.

Here are 5 super safe apps brown boys will LOVE 

(and even stoke their love of learning!)

Minecraft

Since the moment he downloaded this building game to our iPad, Le Kid has been ADDICTED to Minecraft. I don’t really understand why he loves it so much, but with millions of downloads clearly I’m the odd person out. According to its webside, Minecraft is “a game about breaking and placing blocks. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things.” I’d describe it as Legos on a screen because it challenges kids to be creative and build whatever their imaginations can think up. Minecraft is pretty awesome, and even some teachers are using the game to teach math, history, and science. Grab it here.

 Lightbot

Lightbot gets kids to fall in love with coding by asking them to solve puzzles. The app is available on both iTunes & Google Play, and has two separate games for kids 4-8 and 9+. It’s been hailed by the New York Times as “great fun and does a surprisingly thorough job of introducing some pretty complex principles of programming.” Grab it here.

Codecademy 

Like Lightbot, Codecademy teaches kids to code…FOR FREE. Codeacademy goes beyond the basics and teaches HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Python, Ruby, and PHP. Codeacademy is perfect for older boys and adults too, and the site boasts several testimonials from people who picked up a new skill and now have jobs in technology. Sign up here.

Mystery Math Museum

Getting boys excited about math can be a challenge, but Artgig’s educational apps make it much easier. In Mystery Math Museum, kids “use math skills to unlock rooms and passages on their epic journey” while they “help a friendly and curious little ghost rescue the dragonflies that are hidden in Mystery Math Museum.” Mystery Math Museum is geared toward ages 9+, but younger kids can play Artgig’s Mystery Math Town. Grab both here.

Garage Band

Ok. Garage Band is seriously awesome. I use it to record audio and short stories, but it can do so much more. Garage Band will appeal to boys who want to get their Diddy on and produce music (or podcasts). The Apple app can also teach kiddos how to play a variety of instruments from piano to guitar. Give it a whirl here.

Do you know a boy who digs technology? What are his favorite apps? Share them below!