Tips on Preschoolers Electronics

I don't know a lot about the elctronics but I do feel that Leap Frog is a wonderful learningsystem. I bought their videos The Letter Factory and Word Factory and they did a great job on helping my grandkids connect the letter to the sounds they make. I give a lot of credt to them for helping me teach my grandkids to read. Both were reading when they entered Kindergarden.

I don't have the V smile pocket but we do have the regular V smile for the TV. My kids love it. The games are great and educational (by the way there are very few DS games that are educational at all so even if you could afford it I don't recommend it and it is difficult for younger kids like your son to use). We are thinking of getting the V motion but... may not because all the new V motion games work on the V Smile! Which is totally great! Not many companies do that so I love V tech for that.
I have heard many good things about Leapster too.
Also- if you are looking for fun and educational (and it doesn't have to be portable) I would go with the Fisher Price Cool school. My daughter got this as a birthday present last year and she LOVES it. She plays on "her computer" as often as I will allow her. She asks almost every day. And plays for a long time when she is on there. It is educational and lots of fun. My 6 year old daughter also likes it alot although she doesn't need it for the learning. It has softwear that has different characters Dora, Scooby, SpongeBob, Clifford, Sesame Street, with different games and activitied but the GREAT thing about it is once you load it on the computer they can switch between games and characters whenever they want... you do not have to change games for them like other computer games or even VSmile or Leapster. They learn how to write letters and numbers even shapes by tracing the cards and it shows up on the screen. Letter sounds, counting, all other "preschool learning skills" and in the scooby game they look for "clues" which is just what is different about this picture and then they use those clues to pick who the monster is, like a lollipop means he has a tongue, hand print with 3 fingers, etc. so they become observant and have to think scientifically using problem solving skills. They make pictures in the art studio it is great! Allows them to "paint" without getting the supplies out and cleaning up all the time! I really love this product and think it is the best out there... I always recommend it and wish it had been out when my oldest was little.
Hope this helps:) Happy Thanksgiving and have a great Christmas.

Hi M.:
I wrote almost the same request when looking for a gaming system for my daughter for her 3rd birthday!! I was dead set on the VTech. My daughter loved to play on my DS, adn I wanted to get her something of her own, and I think I was so dead set only because it looked so similar to my DS. I asked the man at Toys R Us as well, and he recommended the Leapster over the DS, and so did most of my responses on here. My sister has both systems and recommeded that we go with the Leapster, and my husband looked at all of the reviews and found more positive ones about the Leapster. Needless to say, we went with the Leapster, and she absolutely LOVES it! There is a charging station that you can get, so that you are not contsantly replacing batteries. I asked for that for her birthday from a family member. Its around $30.

Another good point about the Leapster is that it is very durable. I was in horror when I looked outside and saw it sitting on the bench in our backyard, after it had rained steadily for 3 days. I thought for sure that was the end of the Leapster! I set it up on the shelf for a couple of days to "dry out", and to my surprise...It still worked!!!

I just got Toys R Us' add today, and it is on sale starting Thursday at Midnight for $29.99. Thats a great deal! Good luck, I don't think you will be disappointed with it. Good luck!

I recommend the Didj from Leapfrog. We got one for our son when he was 5 and he LOVES it. He hated the Leapster because all the games were way too easy for him by the time he was at the end of kindergarten. The games that listed "K-2nd" was all stuff they taught in kindergarten! My 4 year old doesn't like the Leapster, either. One reason for both is that they don't like the bad graphics. And even she is bored with many of the "prek-k" games (basic numbers, letters, letter sounds -- all stuff many 4-5 year olds already know before K).

Anyways.... our oldest daughter just turned 4 a few months ago and she's been swiping his Didj to play with it. And she loves it. Again, many of the games that say "K-1st" is stuff she's already learned in pre-school. Leapfrog has a warped sense of what is taught in each grade level (as myself and many of my mom friends have discovered). She's playing many of the "K-2nd" grade games. We're planning on getting her one of her own this Christmas.

The Didj is nice because it will last for many years. They have games that cover 4th and 5th grade level stuff. My son is in 2nd grade and uses his almost daily. Every Monday, I hook it up to our computer and give it his weekly spelling words so he gets extra practice with them when he plays a grammar/reading game. I also customize the math games by entering the current skill they are working on in class (like times 3 this week). There aren't as many games available as the Leapster (only about 15) but I am told many more are in development, especially for upper elementry and jr high grades.

One thing to note is that the Didj is not like the other educational systems out there. The actual games themselves are not educational. They are normal video games with good graphics and action like racing or shoot 'em ups. At certain breaking points in the gameplay, it switches to a quiz screen where you answer 5-10 questions. After you answer them the game continues. The more correct answers you get, the further you get in the level. Correct answers also unlocked new levels, hidden rooms, 'buy' you extras, etc etc so there's real incentive for a game loving kid to answer correctly to get 'stuff'.

my son had the regular v smile and pocket, the games are interchangeable between handheld and tv version and he had it for around 5 years - very durable, i actually still have it and now my 19 month old play it a little.
my son now has a DS, i think though at 4 i would not go for that, the games are not educational enough.
we also tried the didj (can you tell we like electronics lol?) - not very good game selection with that, he barely played it and i am getting ready to sell it on ebay.
I am sure the leapster is also very good, and similar to the v smile - what i liked about the vsmile though is that you could take the pocket one with you, and play the one on the tv in the house and you dont have to buy different games

you can buy them at target at the moment really cheap - and there are tons of used ones on ebay

Hi M.,
We got my son the Leapster2 when he was 5. He seems to like it and is 6 now and still using it. (Ours is the Star Wars version.) It came with some built in games - there's an art one that my son really likes! We had the bigger V-Smile system and he never seemed to get into it that much so I chose the leapster2 over the VTech/VSmile handheld. His cousin got a DS at Christmas last year and he really seemed to like it but I didn't want to pay that much money for something I wasn't sure he'd like... anyhow he really likes his leapster2 (it's been great on longer car trips!)He also seems to like the "didj" (also by leapster) but at the time it was a little more and there weren't quite as many games available. The didj seems like a nicer model but a plus for the leapster 2 was that you could also use the original leapster games with it. Some stores have a display one out that they can try - the Target store I frequent had a didj out that I let my son sample before buying the Leapster2. I just wanted to see if he'd like the handheld game before I purchased. Sometimes it just seems so hit or miss with these things. Hope this info helped. Good Luck.

Hello,
I have a frined that thier child has a leapster 2 and she loves it. It has been dropped on a hard wood floor twice and still works. I have read the reviews on it by people too. Some love it and some don't and try to work with what I see. You have to realize that some people expect to much out of these toys. Some people even buy them to early on and the children are not old enough to take care of them.
I have a one of those reading pens for my daughter. She was your sons age when I got it last year. She is still not ready for it. She plays with it for a short time then leaves it alone for weeks on end.
Just take things with a gain of salt. If you think your son will like the leapster then buy it. I did and I also got the added protection for it. Its all hiding in my closet waiting for Christmas. The only thing I do have to say in the negative about leapfrog is that thier customer service line stinks.
I did go on leapfrog web page to check out the demos on the games before I decided which ones I thought my daughter would enjoy. She is in kindergarden this year and that kind of guided me on which games to choose as far as the learning goes.
Don't let the reviews sway you to much unless that are just so many it is hard to overlook. Really read what they are complaining about.

M.,
My niece, nephew, and cousin's son all LOVE their Leapster 2 systems. My sister-in-law is one who thoroughly checks the reviews and she went with the Leapster because of it's ease of use, cost, and game cost. Good luck. I know that it's hard, but from what I have seen, when my daughter is old enough, I will be purchasing a Leapster for her. Merry Christmas and happy shopping!

K. Downing