Kids vs Phonics

Kids vs Phonics is an early‑learning phonics program designed to help preschool children learn the basic skills needed for reading. It teaches phonics through short, animated lessons, books, songs, and quizzes. Kids vs Phonics is part of the educational company Red Cat Reading.

Levels

Kids vs Phonics has 10 levels. There is one bonus level: Level 11. Level 11 is only available on YouTube, that is unavailable in the Kids vs Phonics app.

List of Levels

These are the list of levels in Kids vs Phonics. It is sorted from easiest to hardest.

• Level 1: s, a, t, i, p, n, d, e
• Level 2: c, o, b, m, r, h, u
• Level 3: j, l, g, k, f
• Level 4: z, w, v, X, y
• Level 5: oa, ai, ee, ea, ie
• Level 6: or, er, oo (1, pronounced “oo”, as in “Boo”), oo (2, pronunced “u-h,” as in “Cook”), ng
• Level 7: ch, sh, ck, th (soft), th (hard)
• Level 8: ou, ue, qu, ar, oi
• Level 9: a_e, e_e, i_e, o_e, u_e
• Level 10: ph, le, ay, oy, y, y2
• Level 11 (bonus levels): ion, igh, au

History

Kids vs Phonics teaches reading using a structured phonics sequence that introduces sound–spelling patterns in organized levels. Each level builds on previously learned sounds, helping children progress gradually and confidently.

The lessons are known for being fast paced, using repetition, clear pronunciation, and colorful animation to keep young learners engaged. The wider program includes video lessons, phonics books, interactive quizzes, and songs designed for beginning readers. Kids vs Phonics' content is aimed at children aged 3 to 5.

Most phonics sounds were created in 2015 and 2016, with some levels created in 2017. 2018 to 2021 Kids vs Phonics videos were mostly compilations of phonics sounds and more other videos.

App

The Kids vs Phonics app is a free phonics and reading app for Android and iOS devices. It is designed to help children “fall in love with reading” by combining phonics instruction with colorful animation and interactive practice.

The app contains 10 levels. Each level includes multiple lessons, and every lesson contains a video, a book, a quiz, and a song. Although the app ends at Level 10, an additional Level 11 exists as a set of bonus lessons released exclusively on the Kids vs Phonics YouTube channel.

The app is rated 2.5 star rating worldwide. In Japan, there is two 1 star ratings. In the United States, the ratings are 2.9 stars. The app contains 10 levels. Each level includes multiple lessons, and every lesson contains a video, a book, a quiz, and a song. The app includes an inappropriate “Choose a Player” coded for ages 8 and up, and in the application and preschoolers can create their own profile, which is a COPPA violation. Kids vs Phonics accepts even explicit usernames and all ages into the app, which is inappropriate. It includes 4 steps: Watch the Video, Read it Yourself (Kids vs Phonics has an audio section for help), Do the Quiz (hardest task), and Sing the Song. The ratings are low because most user complaints said “app doesn’t work” and “app doesn’t load.” The app doesn’t work on iPadOS 16.6 or later. The app requires iOS 6 and later. Although the app ends at Level 10, an additional Level 11 exists as a set of bonus lessons released exclusively on the Kids vs Phonics YouTube channel. The app was last updated in 2017, which is a 32-bit app that still works on some 64-bit devices that requires iOS 6.0 or later.

According to user engagement data, Level 5 is the most popular level among learners.

The first phonics video they uploaded is the oa sound.

Characters

Many Kids vs Phonics videos feature two recurring mascots: a boy with orange hair and a girl with black hair. These characters appear in a large number of the phonics lessons, including videos for sounds such as wh, th, ch, uu, and au. They serve as visual guides to help demonstrate sounds and words throughout the lessons.

The mascots do not appear in every video. Some lessons, such as those focusing on the o sound, the le ending, the ea vowel team, and the g sound, use different visual styles or characters instead.

Production

The company’s founders were Peter Galante and Felipe Kolbx. Its headquarters is located somewhere in Japan.

Popular Videos

Kids vs Phonics publishes its video lessons on its official YouTube channel.

Some of its most‑viewed videos include:

• Alphabet Phonics – a full introduction to all letter sounds.
• The EA vowel team lesson.
• The LE ending‑syllable lesson.
• Level 11 bonus lessons, which are available on YouTube but not included in the app.

These videos are among the channel’s most widely recognized and frequently recommended resources for early readers.

Controversies and Criticism

Kids vs Phonics has the inappropriate mother voice, thick black outline drawings, emotional characters doing inappropriate actions, such as the bad bat destroying a bed in the B sound, sad characters in many videos, and mad characters. Another criticism is that there is random character names, such as “Ned” in the N sound, despite being a skunk. Another criticism is that the YouTube channel posted their last Kids vs Phonics video in October 2021, leaving it inactive, while the rest of the channel was uploaded on March 3, 2024 on English with Masa.

Possible COPPA Violations

The Possible COPPA Violations in Kids vs Phonics are:

• Possible COPPA Violation #1: Kids vs Phonics Profiles in the App. The first COPPA Violation is that kids can create their own profiles, even with explicit usernames like the f and the b words with any age, including 100 years old. (2015)
• Possible COPPA Violation #2: English with Masa videos. Comments are turned on in those videos, including “The Wheels on the Bus”. The comments on that video show, for example “Thank you very much!”, “My sister loves this song so much”, and “Come back please” are the comment examples as of January 19, 2025. (2024)

Affiliation

Kids vs Phonics is part of the Red Cat Reading learning system, which offers phonics books, reading programs, and educational materials for young children.

External Links

• Official Kids vs Phonics website
• Kids vs Phonics app page
• Kids vs Phonics YouTube channel