Squashy Bug helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Focus

Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks.

While Squashy Bug starts with people who are relatively easy to avoid, they soon increase their pace. This means that the player needs to use all of their focus skills to be successful. Internal and external distractions can cause the player to take their attention off the screen for a split-second, which is enough to cause the player's bug to be squashed. The same thing can happen if they don't initiate their task immediately.

It's also important for the player to split their attention between two tasks--avoiding feet and collecting coins--and shift back and forth multiple times. If they don't keep both tasks in mind, with their attention split between them, they will either end up squashed (which will end the game) or have no coins (which will keep them from buying new bugs).

Time Management

Being efficient and aware of our use of time and effort.

Squashy Bug also allows the player to practice keeping pace and judging time. The player has to be able to estimate how quickly it takes a person to walk across the screen, how fast the ant can move to avoid them, and how the two paces fit together. If they don't exercise these time management skills, they will end up squashed and the game will be over.