Gaming Systems for My 3 & 5 Yr Olds

We have a Leapster we bought for our oldest son when he was about 6 y/o (he'll be 8 tomorrow) & he has loved it, plus our youngest started playing with it when he was about 2 y/o. My boys really like it & it is something that they can share.
The only problem we ever enountered, was our youngest couldn't figure out what buttons to push to get to different activities. All in all I think it is a very good game system for young children!

God bless!

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We borrowed 2 of them for a trip to Florida. My almost 3 and almost 5 year olds loved them. They kept them busy for an almost 14 hour drive. I was amazed at how quickly they learned the controls and the games. We're looking to invest in one for Christmas.

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I certainly recommend the LeapFrog gaming systems; it was a perfect choice for my son when he was 4 y/o. It was great because the games were educational and he could take it with him when we went different places.

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Excellent choice. Definitely buy them!

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I also have a 3 and 5 year old. My daughter (5) got the VTech VSmile for Christmas last year and she loves it. It's portable. It can be hand held or you can plug it in to the TV like a playstation and they can play it that way. My son (3 in Nov) plays it so much that he is getting one for his birthday. They also have the Leapster TV and they never play it. It's hard to use so they get frustrated really easy and I have to practially do it for them. Hope that helps! Good luck!

D. S.

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We have had 2 of them for 4 years. Unfortunately, the games wear out fairly fast in my opinion. It's very annoying in that after awhile a game will work with one system and not the other. We can't remember which ones work with which system. So my daycare children become rather frustrated with them. I get frustrated with the very high cost of the games.

Now that was the negative... I'm not sure I would buy them again. One of these days I'll pitch these just from the frustration. BUT, my kids love them and still ask for them all the time even with the problems. I do believe they are great for giving them some early skills and making them enjoy learning. It's a great bridge to learning how to use a real computer. Maybe 2 children could not wear them out as fast as 3-4 children would. My game systems have really been used days, nights, weekends, for 4 years.

S.

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My 3 and 5 year old boys have them and LOVE them. We have many games I bought on ebay and they work well. Cannot reccomend them enough.

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Ok, I'm a child of super-Mario brothers (nintendo, 1st generation, in 10th grade)...but, I heard a report on NPR a few weeks ago how video games and the lack of creativity involves hinders imagination. Granted, I'm not anti...I'm not anything yet...I have a 10 month old! But, thought you might want to look it up...www.NPR.org

We have the Leapster's and they are really great. My kids also like the Fisher Price Cycle and Learn games as well as things on the Wii. And no, they don't play these all the time...maybe 3-5 hours a week as we don't have any commutes and are busy in other activities as well. I also have the Leapfrog learning system that plugs into the TV and the kids have to plug the letters in to spell words...really great confidence booster to kiddos just learning their letters and sounds!

I will tell you one drawback to the Leapsters...you kids have to have patience...if they don't listen to the instructions and jump ahead, they won't know what to do...was a MAJOR downfall to giving my kids the LeapFrog stuff at 2 or 3...if they can be patient, then they will hear what they are supposed to do and have no problems working it...also, get them earphones or the things will drive you crazy on the drive...especially if they are playing 2 different games! ;)

I would suggest trolling garage sales, craigslist or even ebay...this is a REALLY good time to jump start your X-mas shopping on ebay...most people aren't competing for X-mas presents yet...they are just trying to get past Halloween and BTS clothes/winter clothes for kids...so you might get some really good deals. I mean, realistically there is nothing wrong with the games being resold and it's like buying a used car...why pay for the new when the used is just as good? Also, if you are contemplating LeapFrog, register at their site along with ToysRUs as they will send you sales info so you can to a lot of comparison shopping before you even leave the house! Have fun and good luck!

My 2 year old has a nintendo ds with the WonderPets and Diego games and a Vsmile with the Backyardigans and he likes them both. I can see that he is learning and I am very impressed.