LeapFrog Products

[liznboys]

We're thinking of getting our older two boys (ages 5 and 3) LeapPads for Christmas. Amazon has a Spiderman one for $39.99, is that a good price? It comes with one book (Spiderman). Do you think the regular LeapPad would be good for both of them, or should we consider the My First LeapPad for the 3 yr old, and the Leapster for 5 yr old? Are these products good quality? If your child has one, does it still keep their interest as much as when they first got it? Do you think it's helped them learn, or is it more just for fun? We've got a Kasey the Kinderbot that collects dust most of the time. I don't want to see these become dust collectors too!

Sorry, lots of questions, I know!

 

[Bob Slydell]

The Leapster would be a great gift for you 5 year old. My 4 year old would play it 24/7 if we'd let him. One thing I would recommend for the Leapster is the rechargable batteries and charger for it (I think it's an extra $20). The thing eats through batteries pretty quickly.

As far as LeapPads go, I would get the regular LeapPad and your 3 year old can grow into it. We have both the My First LeapPad and a regular LeapPad and my 4 year old's already pretty much done with the My First LeapPad.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

I love Leap Frog products. We have LeapPad and Leapster and a handful of others. The Leapster is great for the car and you can plug earphones into it. For Christmas we got Matt the bank since he will be leanring about counting money in school soon and thought it would be neat. They can set their own goal for saving money, etc.

He had the My First Leap, but only played it for a short time. I also would suggest just going with the regular LeapPad and skipping My First.

Have fun!

 

[castlegazer]

Would you say the same thing about an over 2 1/2 yo. The Grandmas want to get him the My first Leappad.

 

[piglet too]

No advice on the LeapPad or Leapster, sorry. But I did want to tell you about the Fridge Phonics! It is so neat and my kids have learned a lot from it. http://www.leapfrog.com/do/findproduct?ageGroupKey=preschool&key=fridgephonics

 

[Kimberle]

I bought Brittany the My First when she was 3. She used it, not a ton, not a little, just kindof an average toy. At that age, she preferred me to read to her. When she was 4 1/2, I got her the Regular Leappad. She LOVES it. Especially now that she is in Kindergarten. She has a Kindergarted book that teaches her how to sound out & break down words. It's a wonderful tool. She has several of the "books", like Princess, Finding Nemo, Lion King, etc as well. She enjoyes them and enjoys playing the games.

Personally, I would not buy a regular Leappad for a 3 yo. I would wait until they are closer to 5. The way these electronic "toys" change, there may be a whole new version out in a year or two. If you want him to have a similar "toy", then I would buy the My First.

 

[laurie31]

Older DD got a Leap Pad when she was 4 and still plays with it. In fact, she was hoping for some new books for it, for Christmas. She has about outgrown it, as she's 8 now. We haven't had any luck finding 3rd grade stuff for it. THere is plenty of preschook K5, 1st and 2nd grade stuff, though. Younger dd got her own last Christmas and has really enjoyed it. They both play with them a lot.

Oh, and $40 is a good price!

Laurie

 

[liznboys]

Thank you all!! GREAT advice and thoughts. Keep it coming!

dvcfamily41801-I was looking at that bank too, it looks very cool!

piglet too-And I was looking at that fridge thingy too, it also looks great!

LeapFrog has so many neat things, it's hard to choose. I was also looking at the Globe which seems like it would be an awesome learning tool. But it's $99 which is a bit pricey. Maybe the grandparents can buy it...

 

[lapinluv]

I love all the LeapPad products.

DD had My First LeapPad when she turned three and used it occassionally. When she turned four, she got the regular LeapFrog and she still uses it all the time. I bought her the Leapster for Christmas.

We also have Fridge Phonics and have a bunch of LeapFrog products in line for the new baby. I've found them to be durable and have the ability to "grow" with children.

I would try the Leapster for the five year old. The three year old is really between LeapPads. I would probably buy the regular one, with the knowledge that I'd have to do a lot of handholding in the beginning.

 

[believe]

We actually had bad experience with our Daughter's leappad...the pen quit working on part of the book (you could still increase volume). I was told by customer service to purchase a new pen, I did this and it still didn't work. They then said it was broke and they could give me a 50% off coupon if I shipped them the book. By the time I would ship it I wouldn't be saving 50%. My daughter now has the Fischer Price version and it is holding up much better.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Originally posted by castlegazer
Would you say the same thing about an over 2 1/2 yo. The Grandmas want to get him the My first Leappad.

2 1/2 should be a pretty good age for the My First Leappad. You'll get a year or maybe two from it before they get bored with it.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

<- really starting to love to toy threads...

My view on the Leap products is its a pretty good product line- That said it either the reg Leap line (Leappad/ +Writing/+Microphone) would be good for the older kid and a little advanced for the younger kid-or I would go the Leapster route for the older kid. Most stores have a demo display for both the Leap line and the Leapster. Id play with both to find out what would be best for your family.

As for younger- Id watch him play with the Leap line and see, but I also would agree that Id prob go for more the My First line than the regular line right now- Its a pretty good line that they've added some good books to lately.

One benefit is that the Leap line grows better (right now) for kids going from K-6 (The Quantum series works on the Leap line) and is alot more diverse to tailor to kids than the Leapster but Leapster is catching up (It was just released last year)

As for the Fisher Price Power Touch. I have never been confident over the line. Its never been supported well (few books, not very diverse) they did better this christmas with 4-6 new books but unless they are planning to roll out a phase 2 player I'm not sure if we are keeping it past Jan (or if they are just playing havoc with our toy codes at work)


Can ya tell I sell toys for a living? -em

 

[Tinks]

We are a second family that had pen failures in two leappads! We gave up. It frustrated me to no end that the toy cost so much and the pen broke on two separate pads very shortly after we got it.

I will say the state page in the regular book is fun for growups, too. It's a timed race to identify as many states as possible (also there's the same game for state capitols!) My DH and I had some laughs with it trying to out-do eachother

 

[lovesdumbo]

My DD got the My First Leappad for her 3rd birthday and played with a lot-then we passed that on to her younger brother and she got the regular Leappad for her 4th birthday which she still using quite a bit. At 3 she wasn't ready for the regular Leappad and I knew I could pass the first leappad onto her 2 siblings. They've got lots more books for the My First now. I would reccomend getting a storage case/bag/backpack for which ever you get to keep the cartridges safe. Liznboys-do you belong to a wholesale club? They often have the Leappad packaged with several books.


ToysRUs was having a buy 2 get 1 free on all Leap products several weeks ago so Santa bought my now 5 1/2 and soon to be 4 year olds Leapsters and my 5 1/2 year old the Globe. So I got one of the Leapsters for free. I bought the Kindergarten and Sponge Bob games for the Leapsters. Now I've read that Sponge Bob might be better for a little bit older. Anyone have any game suggestions for Leapsters? I was thinking of Dora and Nemo.

I also bought the fridge ABC thing for my soon to be 2 year old.

My kids also LOVE the Leap Frog DVD's. My DD just started reading this weekend (it all clicked-she's known all the sounds for months) and I know that the DVD's have helped. They are coming out with 2 new titles this week.

 

[liznboys]

lovesdumbo-Yes, we belong to Costco and they do have a LeapPad bundle we're considering. That's so cool you got that deal and got one free!! I'm envious you got the globe! I think I want it for me too...

 

[ahutton]

My older DD got a LeapPad when she was a month short of turning 3. She played with it a little that first year, but it was Thanksgiving the following year before she could really stay tuned in long enough to follow a story. She is now turning 5 in January, and loves playing with it. It is a great trip toy, as there are many things she can do with her assorted books, it is a nice break from movie watching while on the road. We'll keep buying her the tiers of books as long as it holds out. She has had it for almost 2 years now and everything is working fine.

We've put a My First LeapPad on the our younger DDs Christmas list, she will be 3 in March. I would like something she can do on her own while on road trips and I know she is not quite ready for the LeapPad based on how she is with her sister's.

 

[castlegazer]

Thanks everyone - its My First LeapPad for my 2 1/2 yo.

He also has Fridge Phonics and they are truly amazing - he love sit and presses them all the time and dances to it. He has even had remarkable improvement due to it with some of his words and letters like T and S - tough ones for him. Its fun for us too and not too annoying.

We also have the Globe - before your eyes pop out due to our son only being under three I will tell you that it is harbored down in the basement because I won it in a raffle. I sneak it out and play with it, though - it is VERY cool. By the time I give it to him, though, many countries will probably have changed. Its a very cool gift for a child of any age above 5 (even for a 34 yo).

 

[liznboys]

Originally posted by castlegazer
Thanks everyone - its My First LeapPad for my 2 1/2 yo.

He also has Fridge Phonics and they are truly amazing - he love sit and presses them all the time and dances to it. He has even had remarkable improvement due to it with some of his words and letters like T and S - tough ones for him. Its fun for us too and not too annoying.

We also have the Globe - before your eyes pop out due to our son only being under three I will tell you that it is harbored down in the basement because I won it in a raffle. I sneak it out and play with it, though - it is VERY cool. By the time I give it to him, though, many countries will probably have changed. Its a very cool gift for a child of any age above 5 (even for a 34 yo).

Ok, you've got me wanting that globe even more now!

 

[lapinluv]

Does anyone have the LeapFrog Phonics Writing Desk? It's supposed to teach you how to write upper and lower case letters. DD knows how to write most of her upper case letters, but none of her lower case. She loves to write her letters, so I was thinking this desk would help. Is it worth it?

 

[tinaluis]

We've had the LeapPad system for about 7 years now and love it. Never had a problem with the pens and our girls are pretty rough on their toys.

RadioShack has a LeapPad on clearance for $29.97 (regular $69.97 I think) which includes the LeapPad System and three books. I don't remember which three offhand but can check when I get home. My store still had about 6 left. You may be able to find some info on the RadioShack website. If I recall correctly, I found the deal and then typed in my zip code and it told me which stores in my area had the system in stock. Also, CircuitCity had several LeapPad books on sale for $5.99 and $6.99.