The Sago Mini apps are among the most colourful and fun available for pre-school children, and latest release Sago Mini Babies doesn’t let the side down.

Aimed at 2-5 year-olds, it turns the familiar Sago characters – Harvey, Jack, Jinja and Robin – into baby versions of themselves, who need to be looked after by your children.

“Feed Robin her favorite mush, play dress-up with Jinja, change Harvey’s stinky diaper, then take a dance break with Jack,” explains the App Store listing – strangely, we remember rather more smelly nappies when our children were babies than dance-offs.

Developer Sago Sago stresses that the app is aimed at boys and girls alike. “Pretend play helps children understand and take control of their own world. With fun and familiar activities like feeding, playing and bathing, this open-ended app helps children practice empathy and nurturing behaviour,” explains the company.

We’d love to have had this kind of app when we were expecting our second child, to help spark discussions about the new baby with our (then) two year-old. If only to warn him about the stinky nappies!

Anyway, this is a fun, well-crafted digital playtoy, which is open-ended enough that young children will enjoy coming back to it regularly.

Sago Mini Babies costs £2.29 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.