I am wanting to get my 6yr old son an educational gaming system for Christmas. We have Xbox 360 and PS3 at home from my 19yr old step-son. But I don't really want to start that this soon. Was hoping something more educational but fun, and transportable (car, restaurant, etc).
Mobi, Leap Pad, Nintendo DS, etc? What do you recommend?
Anything comparable to get my 3yr old too? (he thinks he is the same age as his 6yr old brother, so they have to each have something similar!)
Thank you!!
I would do the Ipod touch over anything else. You can download educational apps along with just fun ones. You can also connect to the internet over wifi if there are some sites (Starfall, Spelling City) that he likes to play on. There are so many different apps and tons of free ones.
I second the ipod touch. It's much more versatile. Not only can you play games (and the games are MUCH cheaper), they can take pictures, videos, send texts, watch movies, play music.
I have no experience with mobi. My kids got really bored with leapPad quickly. Not everything has to be educational. I'd go with the nintendo DS - that way he can have games that are educational - and soem that are purely fun.
I would either go with a Nintendo DS or an iPod Touch. Find out what his friends have. When my kids friends all had DS's, my kids liked to play together. Now that they all have iPods none of them are using the DS's any longer.
We got 3DS games and I can tell you there are games for them everywhere. We also have the regular DSi too. I play games on that one when we travel, I don't need a complicated game, I'm not that great at them.
We get the games at Game Stop for pennies on the dollar of what their original cost was. We get them at Walmart new, from friends whose kids have outgrown them.
My 5.5 year old has a DS and loves it. He has games that are just games and educational ones. You can also check out games at the library (check yours) for free which is great - we only own two games the rest we borrow!
Well, I don't really know how much all the game systems are these days. My son (6) has an ipad mini, and it works out so well. Almost limitless number of free and cheap apps you can download that are educational and fun. My 3 year old daughter even uses his ipad and she is a wiz at it. I know they are pricey, but I don't think they are much more than a lot of the gaming systems out there and with those you have to go out and buy expensive games to go along with them. Also, the parental controls are great on there, so you don't have to worry about any of that either.
I just bought a Nook for my 5yr old son's b-day gift. We were going to buy an ipod touch, but they are so expensive! We got a 7 inch Nook for $129 at Target, and its great! It does all the stuff he wants - plays all the app games like I have on my phone, has educational kids games, plays movies, etc. And me and my husband often use it at night to jump online and check emails and stuff. We have used the parental settings to prevent him from being able to go online or order anything. Its been a month, and he loves it so much and has been doing an excellent job taking care of it. I would def recommend the Nook!
