OT: Anyone have the leapster...do you like it?

[Sophie_2003]

Hello,

My DD (5) is starting to get into computer games. She has outgrown her leappad, and I don't want to get a big system like Wii. We had gotten her a VSmile but found the games and graphics horrible.

Does anyone have the leapster for a preK kid? do they like it, dislike it. Any pros and cons you can share?

tks!

 

[cantwaitforwdw]

My DD will be 4 in May and she got a leapster for Christmas. She loves it, but my niece got a Nintendo DS and she is 6. If I had a 5 year old I would look at the DS over a leapster - the graphics are better and more game selection. They come in all kinds of different colors too.

 

[CrAzY4DL]

We have 2 and love them!! We also have a Wii, a Vsmile and 2 Vsmile Pockets. The Leapsters we got when DD's were 4 and 8 for our trip to North Carolina and now they are almost 6 and almost 10 and they still play with them. A LOT! Like, alll the time in the car! LOL We are looking at getting DD9 a DS Lite for her 10th bday tho. I like the Leapsters because the graphics are better than the Vsmile and they are very educational AND fun!! Our current faves are Jedi Math, Get Puzzled! and I Spy.

 

[tinkerlisa]

We got it for my son 2 years ago. It was great for about 6 months or so, but now the games don't work half the time(my son does not abuse it) and the graphics are not that great(they are like the vsmile graphics which we had also and hated).
We bought him a Nintendo DS and that is great! He isn't allowed to play it all the time, mainly on long car trips(we have family that lives an hour away) and when he is done with homework and his reading(we limit that time to about 30 min)
Also, with the leapster, he got bored with it real quick. I feel like we wasted our money.
The only point that I can say I like about it is the games are all learning games whereas with the DS most of the games are not for learning but there are a few learning ones.
If you want to check into a DS and the price is not right, try gamestop they sell used and refurbished ones at an ok price. Don't get the original one get the Nintendo DS Lite. The reason is because its hard to find any accesories for the original one. They have all kinds of cute games that your daughter will like to like the catz and dogz. My son loves the new super mario bros and mario kart is another good one.

 

[Kallista]

My kids (4 and 6) received Leapsters for Christmas. They really like them.

We bought a Smart Cycle last year, and hated it because the graphics and game play were so poor.

The Leapsters don't have state of the art graphics, but they're not so bad that I hated the games.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

We have 2 leapsters, my dd7 and dd4 LOVE them. Their is a good selection of games and they are very durable. Mine have been dropped out of the truck, off the table.... We did just buy a second nintendo ds for our dd7 and both her and dd4 who is almost 5 love that too. The ds seems to be pretty durable too. That's what I was worried about, I didn't want a 150 game to drop and break, but the new one we just bought, but we've had the other one for almost 2 years.

 

[nessz79]

We have them for our boys, ages 6 and 4. The 6 year old is growing out of it, although he'll still play at times. The 4 year old is more into it. We did buy a Wii and we enjoy playing it together as a family.

The graphics are ok, but nothing spectacular. I like that they are learning and having fun at the same time.

 

[Deffenm]

Both my boys have one and they are almost 10 and 8. I will be getting the boys a Ninetendo DS this year for Christmas as they have outgrown their leapster games. I will be handing down one leapster game to DD5 and to DNephew 4. I believe I heard Ninetendo is coming out with new version called DSi in April so if you are going that route you may want to go onto Amazon and check it out as I believe you can pre order them now. I am hoping that when the new version comes out that the DS lite version will be cheaper.

 

[2disneyboys]

have two leapsters for over 5 years and prob only about 20 hours logged on them (total) . have two nitendo ds's for over 1 year and at least a hour a day logged on them. leapsters are heavy & bulky and limited games. they are cool though.

 

[Poohbug]

My kids loved the leapster when they were younger. I recommend it to everyone. The fact that the games are teaching them something is great. I did not have to teach my middle son the alphabet-he learned it from the leapster games.

Now they have DS and don't play with the leapster much but the 5 yr old still asks for it once and a while. I will keep it for youngest son.

Check around for the leapster unit and games-you can get them for a good price. Also check out garage sales. You should be able to get a new one for $30-40 dollars and pay much less for a used one at a garage sale.

The only problems I have had is with getting the games into the unit. Sometimes you have to push pretty hard to get them to play-the kids can't do it, I have to do it.

I love the DS also but this is better for 6 and up IMO.

 

[hudsoncs]

We love it and so does my 4.5 year old VERY active boy. I bought on leapfrog.com, the l-max (leapster that can plug into tv) for $39 PLUS the games were only $9.99!

 

[OmahaNEDad]

It really depends on the games you want your child to play. We bought our 4 year old twins have the Leapster game system for its educational games. We also have the Wii for fun non-educational games.

Leapster games are targeted towards your child’s age and what they should be learning. The graphics are not cutting edge but your child will learn about numbers, letters, how to read, math, etc.

GameBoy (DS, Classic, etc) systems have better graphics but have very few educational games.

My twins love their Leapsters and are learning at the same time. They dont care about graphics.

 

[tam626]

My 3 yr. old has one & he is just really starting to get into it. I like it, there are alot of learning games for it.

 

[RMulieri]

My 5 yr old just got it for Christmas and loves it. we have a lot of the learning games and there are levels for advancement with each game

 

[mom2princessj]

My kids (5 and 4) got leapsters for christmas and LOVE THEM!!!! I really like all the educational games. We also got nintendo ds for christmas but we haven't even opened those yet. I think those are probably a bit advanced for them especially because I want them to do educational stuff right now and not just play games. I recommend the leapsters...I can't say enough about how much my kids learn and love to play the games on them

 

[chemysterygal]

One word of caution - among other things, it depends on how hard your child is on games whether to go with a Leapster or DS! The Leapster is a MUCH more robust handheld game than a DS. The DS is well made, but it won't stand up the to use/abuse a Leapster will. My kids have done things to their Leapsters that I would have SWORN would have killed them, and yet they still work fine. The DS, not so much.

 

[PrncessA]

We got DS a Leapster2 for Christmas and he LOVES it. I have to admit I love it too. We were close to getting him a DS but like others have said the Leapster is very robust and can put up w/ a lot more than a DS can. Also the games are very educational. Honestly DS learned to write his name within a month of getting the PetPals game, LOL. It is funny how fast they learn things when it is a video game.

The graphics are not DS quality but they are not bad at all. DS has the PetPals(very cute), Wall-E and Backyardigan's games and loves them all. Also it is a cheaper alternative to the DS for sure!!!

 

[smurfie]

My son (now 5) got a Leapster 2 for Xmas. I had put it on his wishlist for the eduacational games since he is into video games. He rarely plays with it. He just got a DS (what he REALLY wanted for Xmas) for his birthday.

 

[Sophie_2003]

thank you for all the replies. SInce my DD has not been exposed to the DS yet she would not know what she's missing. I think we'll try the leapster...and she is rougher on her toys than I would like!

 

[cfwallen]

I have both a Leapster and a DS for DD (6 y.o.) She reaches for the Leapster much more often than the DS. The Leapster is bulkier than the DS but that makes it much sturdier. The Leapster is a must have for car trips. She even looks to play it on the 15 minute drive to schooll! Sign up at Leap Frog's website if you haven't already. They frequently have sales on the games.

Carol W. in SC