Nintendo DS & Leapster/Leapster 2 - Tiffin,OH

DS has many games even some that are educational in nature. Brain age is just one that I know of

I would get all of them a Leapfrog Didj. My 7 year old LOVES it and my 4 year old just started grabbing his so she can play while he's at school. It's for grade-school kids and the topics go up to middle school level. You can totally customize the academics -- enter the week's spelling words or tell it to practice the times 5 table or adding fractions or long division.

If you decide to go with the Leapster for the younger ones keep in mind that the old one can play all the Leapster 2 games but won't be as customizable. My 4 year old doesn't like the Leapster anymore. My 7 year old outgrew the leapster by the time he was 5.5 because all the games were too easy for him. Leapfrog has a skewed idea of what grade level work is. That is, a game will say it's for 2nd-3rd grade but it will be stuff my son was taught in 1st grade or even kindergarten.

hi L.... yes, there are educational games for the DS...i do not know much about the Leapster, so no help there...but yeah, get yer lil boy a DS :)

Hi L.!

I can't give you any input on the Leapsters, but I think the DS can be educational depending on your definition. Some games are truly educational like Brain Age - math skills, memorization, reading speed, etc. But adventure or role-playing games can also help children with problem-solving skills (items that must be found, tasks completed to move on in the game) and even empathy and morals (defending weaker people, saving the planet).

Here is an article about the benefits of video games that you might find interesting. http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Health/Story?id=814080&page=2

Just make sure you check the age rating of the game so that the content isn't inappropriate. A few games you might like: Legend of Zelda series (adventure, role-playing) and Animal Crossing (you buy a house, have to pay off the mortgage, catch fish and bugs, decorate your house, water flowers to keep your town looking nice, etc.)

my oldest 2 (5& 4) have the older leapster....they have had it since they were 3......they were young but now they are awesome at it......i dont know the difference between the older leapster & the newer leapster but all the games work with either system

My kids have a DS...8 and 5. 5 yr old plays solitaire and the Pony's, the Doggiez and some others. I think it takes concentration to figure out how to move forward in the games.My 8 yr old plays the Pokemon and Spore Creatures games. Pokemon you have to have points to grow your characters and when you battle you lose points, It keeps his basic math skills going.Spore creatures uses his creativity. Either way, the biggest piece is choosing the right games and limiting usage. My kids are not allowed to take in the car unless on 3hr + car trips. It's not necessary!

My 3 and 4 year olds play on my husbands DS all the time. They do have good learning games. Alot of the kids games that appear to be only entertainment have some educational value to them. My girls play Dora, Wonder Pets, Ponys, Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones etc. Computers and game systems are great for kids. I hate it when someone thinks they're not. It's not like we let them play for 12 hours a day every day.

http://www.supersmartgames.com/Games_By_Platform/Games_By...

My son got a DS when he was probably five. He's nine now. His dad and I also share a second one for head-to-head play on certain games.
A couple summers ago my son took the DS and games to a friend's house and his friend looked through all the games and actually said, "why do you have all these boring educational games?". I told him they were mine :) but it still goes to show even he knew they were educational ( I thought it was sad he said they were boring though - my son likes them).

Our favorites are Brain Age and Big Brain Academy. We also all love Clubhouse Games although it's not educational. Just card games and darts and bowling, etc. TouchMaster is another with fun games like that. I myself love Picross and other puzzle games. I've recently gotten hooked on the Professor Layton games and my son likes that also.

Nintendo is by far our favorite gaming system because it does seem that their games are geared towards younger kids (although my husband still loves Mario, too!).
Beware, the 4 1/2 year olds will want to play, too. :)

My oldest just turned 4 and my youngest is 2 1/2. My parents bought my oldest the Leapster 2 for her birthday and it is great. They bought a princess game that is just a leapster game. The two girls fight over it all them time. My brother-in-law was so surprised how she could play it and of course sometimes she needs help but when we go to dinner she plays it while waiting for the food and than after when the adults are still talking. Can't believe how well she sits still and enjoys the game. I am looking into purchasing others games for it for Christmas. Now on the Leapster 2 there is a place that they can color pictures and that is what my 2 1/2 yr loves doing just something simple. Good luck in decision.

I haven't bought my son any games for the DS that are billed as being educational, but games like Brain Age and the Professor Layton series certainly fill that need.

Brain Age (and its sequels) is a collection of minigames where you do math problems, memory challenges and puzzles to stimulate your brain.

Professor Layton games are a collection of puzzles that you do to solve crimes.

The biggest problem with these games is you'll likely find yourself taking over your son's DS so that you can play them. (My cousin actually bought herself a DS so that she could give her daughter's back.)

They do make educational games for the DS. My 9 year old has a game that teaches notes and rhythms. I have bought her an ISpy game for Christmas. They have more but I can't think well this early in the morning. :)

I definitely say get the 9 year old the DS. As far as the Leapster, my sister got her kids the regular Leapster, and I got mine the Leapster 2, and I think there's a big difference between the two. I noticed that the Leapster 2's are also a lot cheaper this year than they were last year, so I say go for it.

I would definetly go for the DS with the older child, my son has one and he's almost 9 he does love it, I do think there are some education games for it.

Also i've had the leapster 2 for my daughter who is 4 now and she loves that....and loves playing dora etc on it, so that's a good one for that age group.