OT: Good MP3 player for kids??

[cuppycake]

Okay. I KNOW you all can help me out. My girls had a blast when they visited their cousins using their ipods. I'm NOT spending that kind of money to buy my girls a personal music player. At least not yet

So....does anyone have any recommendations for a decently inexpensive and suitable MP3 player for kids? (I'm thinking under $50).

I'd love to hear your experiences good or bad with the ones that you've chosen!!

My girls sure do love their music I'm thinking these wouldl be nice on our 12 hour trips from MO to PA to visit family, and the flights to Disney, of course.

 

[mjkacmom]

Fisher Price makes one - about $50, I believe - with headphones, and it's very sturdy!

http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2620&e=fp3landing

 

[Perditamarie]

We love the Disney mix max. We have music, books on CD and favorite shows and movies loaded on ours. They are also expandable w/up to a 2gb memory card. There are basically no instructions to help you convert your movies to the mix max, but we used a conversion software, and it was so worth figuring out how to do this....it is now easy, if a little time consuming. We use these all the time and they are pretty sturdy. They are regularly priced around $99, but are often clearanced when the unit design changes.

check out:

disneyshopping.com there are 3 styles on sale for 34.99

http://magicdvdripper.com/

 

[carj]

We got my son a $20 MP3 player from Staples. (I saw that they had it the next week with a $10 rebate, so that would have made it $20)

He wanted one, I didn't want to spend the money on an ipod for him, he is 7.

The one that he has serves its' purpose. He can listen to his songs and if he breaks or loses it, not a big loss. It uses one double A battery so the battery doesn't last a terribly long time. We have had it for about a month and replaced the battery once.

 

[EthansMom]

I bought my son a Sandisk Sansa m230 a couple years back and it's still going strong. A 512 MB $20 on Amazon. The m250 with 2 GB is $30. They use the same solid state technology (no moving parts) that Ipods use. I highly recommend the SanDisk as a good, low-price alternative for kids.

 

[peytonsmomie]

We gave my dd8 my old 30g ipod when I upgraded to an 80g at Christmas time, and she absolutely adores it. It was an upgrade from her Disney mixstick that was the purple tinkerbell. The great thing about the disney ones is that you can buy the little music cards that are preloaded with music.

We also own the fisher price one. My ds5 got it when he was 3 and has never once used it. He's used to the ipods we older folks use, and as a result finds the fisher price model to be completely unintuitive.

The great thing about ipods is that you can put *so much* on them, and can replicate the music, so you can have multiple ipods all using the song you paid for once. I love that. With the ipod touch and the huge gig ones that are out now, you can get the 30g's on ebay for dirt cheap. And of course, the nano's and shuffles are rock bottom priced everywhere.

I know ipods are more expensive, but really, when you have multiple players in the house, they really do compensate you for their purchase price!

 

[stella27]

I have had the same dilemma, and although I don't want to spoil my children or have them be too tech-savvy too soon, I don't see the point of getting something that is an inferior product when the ipod shuffles are so inexpensive. I have just about decided to get them each one at Target before our long flight and car trip next week - even though I feel like a sell-out parent.

What's next? A coach purse for my 5 year old?

 

[cjackearl]

I bought my son a Sandisk Sansa m230 a couple years back and it's still going strong. A 512 MB $20 on Amazon. The m250 with 2 GB is $30. They use the same solid state technology (no moving parts) that Ipods use. I highly recommend the SanDisk as a good, low-price alternative for kids.

I 100% agree with this! I bought my daughters both sansas two years ago and they work like a dream! The brand is very highly rated by Consumer Reports. I like that the batteries (1AAA) are easily changed mid trip, as oposed to having to find a spot to plug in your IPod, and they have a view screen. Two big disadvantages to a shuffle, IMO, are its tiny size (SO easy to lose!) and the lack of a view screen.

 

[HeidiPA]

My daughter got the Sansa shaker for Christmas and we've been very happy with it. It was very affordable and has been extremely durable also. She has really enjoyed it. The cool thing about this MP3 player is that it has 2 holes for headphones, so her little brother (or a friend) can listen in too, if they want to.

 

[jrmasm]

I have had the same dilemma, and although I don't want to spoil my children or have them be too tech-savvy too soon, I don't see the point of getting something that is an inferior product when the ipod shuffles are so inexpensive. I have just about decided to get them each one at Target before our long flight and car trip next week - even though I feel like a sell-out parent.

What's next? A coach purse for my 5 year old?

I agree. My 4 year old has a shuffle that was a freebie with software purchase. She loves it and uses it all the time. It's easier for us because DH, DD (13) and I all have Ipods. So we're already using Itunes and music sharing is a breeze.

And she does have a Coach shuffle case to hold it.

 

[maddymae'smom]

Santa brought my 5 year old a Barbie Girls MP3 player, that gives her acess to the Barbie Girls online world. It was so nice to take all her numerous CD's ( Hannah Montana, HSM 1 & 2, Kids Bops, etc.) and upload them on into one very cute and fashionable devise. It comes with attachable earrings to put on the ear buds to make it look like she is wearing earrings...which she loves because she is too scared to get the real ones. At the time, it was $50, but now you can get them anywhere from $15.00-30.00. Depending on the sale. She loves it!