Anyone Have Experience with Leapster?

My 3 year old daughter plays with her 8 year old brother's Leapster from when he was little. She does just fine with it. No she is not always perfect and usually gets more of a kick out of making a mistake on a game (because it makes funny sounds). She has all of his old games and I bought her a new Dora game for it and she just loves it.

Go for it. Sam's has an incredible deal on them right now. When I went there the other day, the Leapster bundles were completely sold out.

My best friend went through the same thing last year. She bought her older 2 kids DS's for Christmas and bought her then 3 year old twins the Leapsters. They loved it! They were able to use it and they thought they were just like their big brother and sister.

Hi D.,

We got my son a Leapster at 3. He is now 5 and still plays with it. He plays with it more now than he had before, but he was still able to play some of the games that they have for younger kids. There a Pre-K games out there. I hope that this helps.

Hi D.,

I have 4 boys - 3, 8, 9, and 10 and we have the same situation at our house. We have two Leapsters from the older kids that my three year old has been playing with since he was two. He still wants to get his hands on their DS's but this seems to satisfy that electronic need. We will be getting couple of new games this Christmas that I think he will be able to play. Although it it recommended for four, with a little practice he has done just fine.

- Mari L.

The leapster leapfrog is great! My son has had it a couple years now - he just turned 6 and it is compatible with all the leapster games. He loves this and it is very educational. Good Luck.

My sons have greatly enjoyed the leapsters. They had them at 3 and 4/5. Did great.
Lots of educational stuff. My sons are 7 & 9 and will still on occassion reach for them.
I am not fond of the Nintendo DS my MIL went against my wishes to buy -- it like too much candy and tv requires limitations implementated.

My son is five and has been playing with Leapster since age 3. I think it is definitely preferable to DS because it actually teaches useful skills (pre-reading, counting, etc,) We also used it to help potty-train my son (he trained late). We do limit his time on it, though.

My 4 year old has a Leapster. She got it for Xmas last year, she was only 3 years old when she got it. She LOVES it. They now have a newer model of it called the L2...the screen looks smaller to me, but supposedly there are some neat features and some of the newer games coming out can be used on both-except that there are more features to the games when played on the L2 instead of the original.

My daughter needed a little bit of help at first, but she caught on fast. It is something she chooses to play with almost every day. She really enjoys it. Here and there she needed help with some of the concepts, but mostly she can do stuff on her own now. It helps them learn letters, sounds, numbers, etc. Rachel can now do VERY simple addition because of one of the games she has!

The way I saw it...even if she wasn't ready for it at the time that we got it for her-it was something she could 'grow into'.

Good luck.

A little bit of advice...if you can, pick up the adapter, because it eats batteries like mad. And watch for sales on the games...once in a while they will clearance some of the titles at Wal-Mart. And if you can, buy the extended warranty. We bought the Leapster at Toys R Us and bought the added warranty so if it was dropped or broken in ANY way, it would be covered.

I completely agree with Aimee P. My 7 year old son also learned his letter sounds from the "Letter Factory" game. My son would sit in his stroller forever at the mall; playing with the Leapster. It is one of the best toys I ever bought.

We started with the Leapster TV for my son when he was 3 (he's now 5 1/2 but is about 18 months delayed) thinking it would be easier than the Leapster - we bought him a few games but they were all quite dependent on the pen and he had difficulty getting the concept. We bought him a Leapster last year and he has really enjoyed it - he is just now starting to play the actual games but there is a sketching program on the Leapster itself that he loves - it has allowed him to get used to the pen/stylus without having to "pick" things in the games. It may take your son awhile to get the hang of the actual games, but he will be able to do other "stuff" with the Leapster in the meantime. Just FYI, the Word Factory game has a learning video on it in addition to the game - I'm sure it's not the only one...but the Word Factory DVD, games, etc. are GREAT! HTH

My daughter who turned 3 in June received the Leapfrog Leapster from her aunt and uncle for her birthday. She loved the drawing game from the very beginning and quickly learned the other games also. She is now a master at it. I found it to be fun to work with her/teach her occasionally, however it was not necessary she learned quickly on her own too. I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun video game for a kid. It's fun and helps them learn at the same time, what's not to love? I hope this helps!

I bough my son the Leapster (because I got it at an incredible sales price at Sam's Club) long before he was able to use it correctly. He loved it and some of the things he was able to do (they have a drawing game built in and there was a learning to print game that he could do somewhat before the age recommendation). Your daughter might be fine with it. You have to remember that it is an age recommendation not requirement. Each child learns at their own pace. Take her with you to the store and look at it in the toy section (usually walmart has display ones), see if she likes it. Or better yet, if you know someone who has one, borrow it for a night.

Anyhow, good luck.

Our boys (then 3 and 5) got Leapsters for Christmas and they LOVE them. Games are available at different age levels, from preschool to 2nd to 3rd grade. My youngest son hasn't had any problem using it. Both boys still enjoy playing them. They are great to take in the car or to restaurants. I highly recommend them.

The leapster's are great, my son got his when he was 3 and he still uses it now, almost 6. we got my daughter one last year for christmas, she was 2, cause she was bothering my son's. they have a variety of games and most of them come with other adapters, so you can either plug into the wall or the tv. they are great!!!!

Leapster is awesome! He will not be too young for it I promise you. My son, who is now 7, learned to read really early (4years old)from Leapster products. Particularly the hand held game "Letters on the Loose" and the DVD "Letter Factory". Cannot recommend this enough.

My son is going to be 6 in December and has been using his leapster since he was 3 yrs old. He loves it!! He told me when he gets much older he would like the bigger persons game, lol. My daughter is receiving the leapster for her 5th birthday. I would start out with the leapster and if he can take care of that with ease then when you are ready to buy the DS then do so.

My son who is now 9 yrs old loved his Leapster. I think the age limit is for small parts that could come off, breakability, and intelligence level but if you have an advanced 3 yr old and you'll be monitoring it's use it should be fine...I'm pretty sure we got our son his when he was 3 yrs old.

It's great because they feel like they are playing video games but they are also learning. Just make sure to check the age limits on the games and only get games that are at his level. LeapFrog is great about any problems but I can tell you if he's too rough with it you'll probably end up with problems...we had to return ours twice but it was very easy to do. That was also when they first came out...we've had this one for about 5 yrs now and it's still going strong. I hope this helps.

It would be great for your child I am sure. My daughter got her first one at 4 I believe, but my son used it probably at 2 ( he loves video games) it works great and it grows with your child. My daughter is now 9 and still plays with it, I think it would work out fine for you. Hope that helps.

My daughter (now 5 yrs old) has had the leapster since she was 3 1/2 yrs and she loved it. I wouldn't get him any games above the pre-k level for right now. Just the basics. You might want to sit with him at first and play the game with him, but pretty much the games explains everything you are do. My daughter just played and figured it all out on her own, she plays it just as much now as she did when she got it.
Now my son is 3 yrs now and we got him one for his birthday, but he isn't as into it as my daughter is, he more of a busy body, rather be outside kicking a ball around. So I'd definitely say it depends on if you think he'll have the attention span for it right now. I will tell you that my daughter learned sooooo much from the leapster its ridiculous. Very worth the money. The one we got is the one that hooks up to the TV and can be used as the handheld, but she rarely uses the TV version. We had gotten it on sale and it was the same price as just the handheld option. So I wouldn't splurge and get both options unless there is a sale. But definitely get the charging dock, so you're not changing batteries all the time. Good luck and keep an eye out if you plan to get it, the games may be on huge discount this week with Thanksgiving sales!
Jennifer

Go for the Leapster or Leapster II (depending on what games you want your son). I bought the first one for my son when he was just two (get the AC adapter or rechargable batteries for it you'll save a bundle). He's now seven and in advanced classes in both math and language arts and I honestly think it's because of the games. They also have movies to go with some of the leapfrog games (i.e. Letter Factory and one of the Math ones) that he loves.
My son also has been asking for a DS since Mommy has one (and wont let him play with it til he can show he's responsible enough not to break it) but he still plays with his Leapster and loves it. My 2.5 year old is getting a Leapster for xmas since he's not good about sharing it. But honestly go for it. It's good for many developmentally skills and makes them feel like big kids

My daughter received her Leapster as a gift for her 3rd b-day. She had no problems using it. She is 6 now and still uses it we just bought games that were older. I think he will be fine with it, just choose games that are age appropiate.

Hi D., My girls have had a leapdter since they were 4/6 and could use it right off the bat... if your child is on the older side of three i think they would have no problem. i think they are a great investment...i actully just bought my younger daughter a new one(leapster 2) for christmas. theres lasted almost 3 years( if they are dropped to much, the screen can get messed up). I would tell you to buy one and just look for games that are geared toward younger kids and maybe you would have to sit with him the first few times he uses it to show him how to use the pen to make things work on the screen...but i'm sue he'll get the hang of it quick. good luck and merry christmas! C.

my son at age three wanted a gameboy...he is now nine. I got him the leapfrog games instead at that age. The DS is over 200 dollars and to me while the hand eye cordination is important they will get that from leap frog. I LOVED their games! they make spider man and what not to make him feel like he is part of the older crowd.

Jenn