Are LeapPads any good?

[The Disney Bunch]

My girls are almost 6 & they have the My First LeapPad which they enjoy. I think I can move them up but I was wondering if anyone else has it & recommends it or not. Amazon has it for $30 right now - is that a good price? Thanks for any insight.

 

[TheGoofster]

My Daughter is 6 and she REALLY loves her LeapPad. I'm sure that it depends on the child who is using it, but for us, it is a wonderful thing. We travel alot (by car), and my daughter will spend hours with her LeapPad. I would also recommend looking in places like Big Lots for cheaper cartridge packages. We have found some really good ones in our travels.
Now, we never had any of the younger versions of LeapPad, so I Don't know about the differences, but I can say that for ease of use, and long-term reusability the LeapPad has been great for us.

As for the price, I'm not sure. We only paid 25.00 for ours, but it was on sale for half price at WalMart. I would look around a bit before spending 30.00 on EBay, you might be able to find it new for close to that price.

 

[liznboys]

My boys like theirs off and on. So I put them away for awhile now and then, then when I bring them out they enjoy them again. I can't remember what we paid, $30 seems reasonable to me. I think they are a good toy though. We'll probably get each of ours one new book/cartridge for Christmas.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

my kids never really liked it very much. They aren't very durable, one of them stepped on it and broke it.

 

[Steve's Girl]

My kids love their leap pads. We have the My First, the regular and now a Leapster. My 7 and 5 year old both love the Leapster. It is small, so easy to take in the car, etc. We use it as an alternative to the Game Boy.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Hi guys! Just saw this thread and thought I would ask you a question. I ended up with 10 or 11 extra brand new leappad books and I have no clue what to do with them. I really don't want to do the whole e-bay thing, and I would gladly send them out for free except I don't want to pay for postage. Any ideas? I was trying to think of where I could donate them to here in town like a kids shelter, but I think "What the heck would kids do with a book when they probably don't have a leappad for it." It's not a toy they can really play with on it's own.

Well thanks for any suggestions!

Andrea

 

[babywewe]

My BF's sister, when she was 5 a few years ago, got a leappad. SHe played with it for about two days and I have no idea were it is now.

 

[famofsix]

OP my kids all enjoy the leappad system, they especially liked it at night when the older kids were reading books they felt like they could read too. We have headphones for our system (any type will do) so we all don't have to listen in. If you break it for some reason the LeapFrog customer service is quite good and we have bought replacement pens at Walmart since they get played alot. We have an original Leappad that still works that is about 6 years old I think. It is important to develop a storage system early on so that the books and cartridges stay together. We have a zipper nylon bag for the cartridges and the books go in a plastic bin. If you establish a care system early on it will help a lot.

Hi guys! Just saw this thread and thought I would ask you a question. I ended up with 10 or 11 extra brand new leappad books and I have no clue what to do with them. I really don't want to do the whole e-bay thing, and I would gladly send them out for free except I don't want to pay for postage. Any ideas? I was trying to think of where I could donate them to here in town like a kids shelter, but I think "What the heck would kids do with a book when they probably don't have a leappad for it." It's not a toy they can really play with on it's own.

Well thanks for any suggestions!

Andrea

Hi Andrea...you may call a couple of daycares, preschools or head start programs. Some afterschool programs may use them. They may like them even if you have more than one title if they have leapfrog systems to go with them. If you donate them you can claim it on your taxes. There's always the thrift store but there's a chance someone will buy them just to list on ebay.

 

[lpbm4]

Responded to your other thread in the Budget Boards.

 

[alloyd1170]

DS has a Leapad that he rarely uses. He loves his Leapster though. It goes in the car, to restaurants and on cruises with him. I like that there is a variety of things to do (games, read along, write, etc) and that its educational. Hes learned so much from it too.

alison

 

[pantherlj]

My daughters (4,7) enjoy leappad once in a while but leapster gets played with all the time. I would go with a leapster over a leappad!

 

[kaw1218]

Another vote for the leapster!!! My DD's each have one and at 10 and 8 they still play with them....the leappad ended up in the bottom of the closet....

 

[BlakeNJ]

Also interested in Leapster. DS loves the My First Leap Pad and we want to graduate to the Leapster. Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Leapster & Leapster LMax? Other than $40!!!!

Thanks!
Blakely

 

[liznboys]

Also interested in Leapster. DS loves the My First Leap Pad and we want to graduate to the Leapster. Can anyone tell me what the difference is between Leapster & Leapster LMax? Other than $40!!!!

Thanks!
Blakely

We have the Leapster L-Max (two of them). I believe the only difference is that the L-Max can be plugged into the TV. If you don't think you need that feature, then save the money and get the regular Leapster. We don't use the TV option that much to be honest.

 

[MermaidMommy]

Go for the Leapster! I think at 6 your girls would be too old to get as much use out of the LeapPad as they would the Leapster -- long-term, the Leapster will grow with your girls much more than the LeapPad. We use ours as a GameBoy alternative, too, and it's versatile, with different cartridges emphasizing games, books, phonics, math, drawing, etc.

Agree about skipping the cost for the L-Max unless you really need the TV option. They now have a TV adapter that works with the original models if you decide you want the feature later. And, as you get closer to the holidays, you'll probably start to see more promotions where you get a free cartridge with the purchase of a Leapster -- they're usually about $25.

FYI, if you decide you want the L-Max, Costco has them for $79.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Another vote for the Leapster. My ds5 has had the LeapPad for 2 years and rarely ever touches it. We got it out thinking atleast dd2 would like to mess with it -- nope. Ds5 got the Leapster for Christmas last year and still plays with it several times a week atleast. My dd2 is dying for one of her own but I think she's still about a year too young for it. The only difference in the L-Max and the regular Leapster is the ability to plug it into the TV and do a few activities on the cartridges that you can't do with the regular Leapster. Since ds aleady had the V-Smile for the TV (also doesn't play with this but dd2 is getting close to being able to use it) we didn't consider that an important feature and got the regular one.

 

[NoKatMom]

We have had the Leapster for about 3 years now. I bought it when my oldest was about 4. Both of my kids play it ( 5 7). One thing I would advise it to but the charger. Ours sits on the charger whenever it's not being played and then it's ready to go. No batteries!!!

 

[KristinU]

OK, based on this thread I need some guidance. I sent away for a LeapPad last year with Quaker proofs of purchase and put it away since DS was too young for it at the time. He’s going to be 3 in January so I planned on giving it to him this Christmas with a few books/cartridges for it. I’ve picked up just one cartridge for it so far and now I’m wondering if I should just skip it and look at the Leapster. The Leapster seems like it would also take the place of his ailing VideoNow Jr. that we pull out for plane rides, sick days, etc. We had considered a DVD player, but I think I like the idea of a Leapster instead. We could do the pad for Christmas then do the Leapster for his birthday a month later, but I can just see that resulting in the pad never getting use…unless we do with the Leapster what we do with the VideoNow Jr. and not allow access to it all the time. But then again, I could give the pad to Toys for Tots and give someone else a chance to play with it. Of course we could always wait another year for the Leapster.

Any words of advice?

 

[BlakeNJ]

I found Leapster games at Khols today, 30% off. They had a princess game, Backyardigans and Thomas. I do not have a Khols charge card but they are having a special--for every $50 you charge, you get $10 to spend begining Wednesday.

 

[BlakeNJ]

OK, based on this thread I need some guidance. I sent away for a LeapPad last year with Quaker proofs of purchase and put it away since DS was too young for it at the time. He’s going to be 3 in January so I planned on giving it to him this Christmas with a few books/cartridges for it. I’ve picked up just one cartridge for it so far and now I’m wondering if I should just skip it and look at the Leapster. The Leapster seems like it would also take the place of his ailing VideoNow Jr. that we pull out for plane rides, sick days, etc. We had considered a DVD player, but I think I like the idea of a Leapster instead. We could do the pad for Christmas then do the Leapster for his birthday a month later, but I can just see that resulting in the pad never getting use…unless we do with the Leapster what we do with the VideoNow Jr. and not allow access to it all the time. But then again, I could give the pad to Toys for Tots and give someone else a chance to play with it. Of course we could always wait another year for the Leapster.

Any words of advice?

I would give him the LeapPad. My DS got it just before he turned 3. He LOVES it. He is 4 now and still plays with it. I am planning on getting him the Leapster for Christmas but he would be fine using the LeapPad another year. I think he may have a little trouble with the Leapster when he first gets it. I would say your son is a perfect age for the LeapPad. He'll get at least 2 years out of it. Plus, it could get pricey to buy games for two different machines. The Leapster games run $25 each. LeapPad games are around $14--much easier on the wallet. Good luck.