handheld learning games

[wifey1220]

I have a 2yr old ds and would like to buy him a learning system for christmas. But which one, I found leapster, zippity and mobigo. Does anyone recommend one system over another? Of course I want a system with disney games but they all seam to have this.

 

[angelmom27]

We are buying the kids the new leap pad from leap frog this year. it is just like an ipad and works with the leapster 2 and leapster explore games too. it also has some other features. i went to the leap frog website and looked at teh features. I was looking at the leapster too but then saw the preview for the pad and was sold. it has so many more features then the others. it is like all of the features are combined into one unit.

 

[NYEmomma]

DD is 2 and we got her a Leapster2 for Christmas/birthday (whichever one I decide to give it to her for). I went with it because they had a good price for it on Amazon a while back and Target had the cases for it on clearance as well.

If you do decide to go with the Leapster, Toys r Us has their Leapster games B2G1 free this week. I've done some research on them & that's pretty much the best price. Works out to be $16.66 per game + tax. I just got her Finding Nemo, Tangled & Dora this morning.

 

[glk2009]

We're leaning towards the Mobigo because it has a QWERTY keyboard. Thought that would be a good learning tool as well, in addition to the games.

 

[jodifla]

We've loved the Leapster. My son played with it from about 4 years old to now, at 9. He's ready to move on.

I think if were were starting now, we'd do the Leap Pad. Looks very cool.

 

[darmay98]

My kids ages 3 and 4 love their Leapster Explorers!

 

[nadira36]

We have both an explorer and a leap pad and can say they both have pros and cons - the explorer can have a rechargeable base station so just plug it in over night and it's good for the week. The leap pad can use rechargeable batteries, but they need to be removed to be charged and you have to get those on your own- otherwise it's an endless supply of dead batteries.

The explorer is smaller, but the leap pad has the camera built in. The explorer has a camera addition sold separately. It seems as though the leap pad will phase out the explorer - if that's the case the cost of the explorer may come down, but will become outdated quickly. As for the old leapster2 - it's harder to find games and is not being updated anymore. I'd go with the leappad

The games are great - the girls love them both (ages 2 - now 3, and 3 now 4.5) and play them both equally as much there are some apps that are only for one or the other (typically anything for the explorer works on the leap pad).

The games are challenging, but doable and grow with the kids. We have the Disney princess game, the princess and the frog, x-men, doodle burg, and have tangled waiting for a special occasion. The explorer also has the addition of the online world to explore - there are other games and help with mouse work nd keyboard use.

As for QWERTY, our girls use the computers often enough we are more interested in the other features.

bottomline: get the one you like the looks of better. They're both close enough with pros and cons for each. Neither does everything. If the leap pad had a rechargeable base, I'd say hands down get that - but the rechargeable base is a huge selling feature for the explorer IMO.

 

[angelmom27]

We have both an explorer and a leap pad and can say they both have pros and cons - the explorer can have a rechargeable base station so just plug it in over night and it's good for the week. The leap pad can use rechargeable batteries, but they need to be removed to be charged and you have to get those on your own- otherwise it's an endless supply of dead batteries.

The explorer is smaller, but the leap pad has the camera built in. The explorer has a camera addition sold separately. It seems as though the leap pad will phase out the explorer - if that's the case the cost of the explorer may come down, but will become outdated quickly. As for the old leapster2 - it's harder to find games and is not being updated anymore. I'd go with the leappad

The games are great - the girls love them both (ages 2 - now 3, and 3 now 4.5) and play them both equally as much there are some apps that are only for one or the other (typically anything for the explorer works on the leap pad).

The games are challenging, but doable and grow with the kids. We have the Disney princess game, the princess and the frog, x-men, doodle burg, and have tangled waiting for a special occasion. The explorer also has the addition of the online world to explore - there are other games and help with mouse work nd keyboard use.

As for QWERTY, our girls use the computers often enough we are more interested in the other features.

bottomline: get the one you like the looks of better. They're both close enough with pros and cons for each. Neither does everything. If the leap pad had a rechargeable base, I'd say hands down get that - but the rechargeable base is a huge selling feature for the explorer IMO.

i agree the recharge station is a big thing for me too. i will be buying 6 of them and so we will go through lots of batteries. can i ask when did you buy your leap pad? they just released them in the stores.

 

[Lstar311]

My son got the Leapster Explorer when he was 3 and some games were too old for him. I think a 2 year old would not really be able to play it and not understand how to play the games. I would look for something geared for a younger child. Leapfrog makes another toy thats a lot less expensive and a lot more basic. I forget the name of it but it has a keyboard and a place to draw w/ an attached pen and teaches them how to draw letters and pictures.

 

[nadira36]

i agree the recharge station is a big thing for me too. i will be buying 6 of them and so we will go through lots of batteries. can i ask when did you buy your leap pad? they just released them in the stores.

We bought it about 3 weeks ago now - plenty of time to try all the features and see how they work. My older DD LOVES the drawing program - which is unique to the pad vs explorer. She spends hours on it. It is similar to drawing programs on the computer or to the wii draw game - however it is a lot easier for her to manage on her own whereas either the computer or wii require either more dexterity or an ability to read more than she's capable of.

I think a 2 year old would not really be able to play it and not understand how to play the games.

WE found our DD loved the pet pad app at 2 and could use that quite successfully. As for actually playing the games - no - she couldn't understand or have the dexterity - however she loved playing them. We'd play with her - or she just hit random things until the dsired effect happened - we never pressured her to do it 'properly' so she had fun. Witht he leap pad (at 3 now) she can use most of the features and is not figuring out how to play some of the actual games that were out of her grasp before - plugging it into the computer it's neat to see where she's come over the past year. The learning path tracks correct answers and the areas the child spends the most time exploring. So it was clear where she spent her time. At 2 she also loved the little videos, songs, and the story books that are downloadable. We actually seldom put a cartridge in for her - after all they're small nd fun to pull out.

 

[nadira36]

Leapfrog makes another toy thats a lot less expensive and a lot more basic. I forget the name of it but it has a keyboard and a place to draw w/ an attached pen and teaches them how to draw letters and pictures.

We also have the scribble and write as well as a few other more basic games. IMO they're not worth while (unless you receive them as gifts as we have).

There's only one way to use them - it keeps asking the child to draw the letter/number and free-style doesn't really have a place. There are a few basic games, but basic dexterity is needed for all of them. You can get just as much from a piece of paper and a crayon.

Especially at this age it's more important for children to play and have fun rather than actually try to learn something from t he toy - the more interference a parent gives the less the child will actually learn from the toy. The more a parent expects a child to learn or get it 'right' the less the child will do, they don't want to let you down, but the 'right' way is above their head - even with the scribble and write.

In the case of the scribbler - you can spend $25 for that and it's good for a few months when the chidl first receives it, then for a few months when the child suddenly understands how to do it. With both the explorer and the leap pad the child can do so many things with it. The pet pad app is so much fun for our girls - if it was a real pet it'd die from all the love it gets : ) As I said before there are also read-along stories you can download - they're interactive and can read either word for word or page by page, or the whole book automatically. The leap pad also has mini movies and sing-alongs that can be downloaded (I'm not sure if they work on the explorer as well - some apps do, some don't).

For the money ($50-65 for explorer and $99 for the leap pad CAD) it makes more sense to get a toy that will grow with the child - and there really is a lot for a 2 year old to do with both the explorer and the leap pad - as long as you're not hung up on the child doing it 'right'.

 

[NYEmomma]

For the money ($50-65 for explorer and $99 for the leap pad CAD) it makes more sense to get a toy that will grow with the child - and there really is a lot for a 2 year old to do with both the explorer and the leap pad - as long as you're not hung up on the child doing it 'right'.

This is DD. I actually have to DRAG her away from the handheld game aisle of the toy section ("Let's go see the baby dolls, you love baby dolls! Please? All these games going off at the same time is driving mommy NUTS!" lol).

She's not playing the games exactly right, I'm sure, but she's doing something to the game and getting a response from it & she loves that!

 

[MommaGinger]

My son got the Leapster Explorer when he was 3 and some games were too old for him. I think a 2 year old would not really be able to play it and not understand how to play the games. I would look for something geared for a younger child. Leapfrog makes another toy thats a lot less expensive and a lot more basic. I forget the name of it but it has a keyboard and a place to draw w/ an attached pen and teaches them how to draw letters and pictures.

I agree. My DD is 4 and we have the Vreader, Mobigo and Explorer. While she can play certain parts of different games, she needs a lot of assistance and often gets frustrated. I think even a very advanced 2 year old will have difficulties with either game system. The leapPad (which I do not have but seen) seems to be slightly easier because of the touch screen. Saying that, my DD loves my Itouch and has no problem at all playing it