LeapPad/LeapFrog thoughts wanted

P. Tierney wrote:

"Nan" wrote:

Fwiw, I do tend to agree that not all toys need to be electronic, nor
do they need to be touted as "educational", for that matter. And I
tend to avoid electronic toys like the plague, in favor of the more
traditional type.

How successful are you (or anyone else?) at doing this? I've tried to
do the same, but I still have two leapfrog products (gifts), a keyboard
(which I like), sit and spin (which I asked for and received as a gift, but
had no idea that it lights up and plays music), and a fair number of
other little gadgets, mostly as gifts. And at my in-law's, *everything*
makes tons of noise, all from toys that they bought at garage sales
and the like.


We don't have any of the things you mentioned except this year we got
a keyboard (from my sister) to see if DD (5 yo) would like to play the
piano. I don't know what happened, but we almost never get electronic
toys. All aunts and uncles know we hate noisy toys and oddly enough they
and we seem to "not see" the electronic toys in the stores. It could be
that everyone is older so their children's toys predated the LeapPads
and such.

We have more traditional toys: blocks, a gazillion legos, paints, chalk,
markers, paper, play-doh, games like candyland. We got a lot of Barbies
until I asked for a cease and desist.

Jeanne

wrote:

My spouse and I have two areas of disagreement on the
LeapPad/Frog/Thing.
I'd appreciate any input.

My son (four) has one (the My First LeapPad, I think, possibly an older
version, it has no separate books) that we got secondhand. We get it out now
and then and usually he ends up banging on it to make it quack "THAT'S the,
THAT's the, THAT's the" over and over, and it goes back in the basement.

I can't see that it's taught him a darned thing except a new way to annoy Mama.
(He doesn't have any other toys with batteries. I have an unusually low
tolerance for that kind of noise. Having it in the back of the car on a trip
would be my idea of utter hell.)

He *has* sat there and typed in words (there is a thing where you put in three
letters and it tells you if you made a word), but he tends to do the same ones
over and over. BUS BUS BUS and that kind of thing. The only way it's built
vocabulary is that his older sisters sit around thinking of unusual
three-letter words that it doesn't recognize. ("A, S, P, ah, ss, puh. You made
a cool sound!")

There isn't any clever programming to tell you if you added instead of
subtracting, or anything like that, it just tells you to try again.

Basically, in our case it doesn't work as a "keep child quiet in a non-annoying
fashion" item, nor does it work to teach the child anything.

--Helen

wrote:

sit and spin (which I asked for and received as a gift, but
had no idea that it lights up and plays music)

The older ones don't. I had no idea that the new ones did, either.

--Helen

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:19:58 GMT, "P. Tierney"
wrote:

How successful are you (or anyone else?) at doing this? I've tried to
do the same, but I still have two leapfrog products (gifts), a keyboard
(which I like), sit and spin (which I asked for and received as a gift, but
had no idea that it lights up and plays music), and a fair number of
other little gadgets, mostly as gifts. And at my in-law's, *everything*
makes tons of noise, all from toys that they bought at garage sales
and the like.

i buy at garage sales, but I look for the older versions of toys I
really liked. The older versions of many toys I really like
don't have batteries. The sit and spins sure didn't. I much
prefer legos, blocks, dolls that are for cuddling, stuffed animals
without any noises.

My granddaughter does have lots of these battery toys already
though because many others buy them for her. I wouldn't, but
my dil likes them just fine.



--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..
Outer Limits

"P. Tierney" wrote:
My spouse and I have two areas of disagreement on the
LeapPad/Frog/Thing.
I'd appreciate any input. They are in the areas of:

1. Should we buy a LeapPad "system" for our child?

My view: While it seems fine, regular reading to her also suffices.
Also, she often favors toys that are electronic (bells, whistles, noises,
lights) over more simple things, and I worry what kind of trend that
is setting for her long-term. It seems like the first step towards an
older child that sits and plays video games too much, with the same
lights, noises, etc. She does play imaginatively and she's active. And
while we can afford it, the long-term costs of such a thing, with the
extra books and such to buy, seem a tad high for the gains that one
might have.

Spouse's view: She already has a good vocabulary and she thinks that
this will help her build it even more. While she may not quite be ready
for it, we can still get it and she can get into it whenever she is
ready. It shouldn't stunt her imagination at all, but assist it, and
electronic items are just the way things are now (i.e., loud and flashy
sit-and-spins instead of the old kind). It'll also be good for trips, a
few of which we have coming up. Also, she has two smaller toys from that
company, given as gifts, and she likes them both.

2. If we buy, should we get My First LeapPad, or just the regular
LeapPad?

My view: The regular LeapPad, going by comments on some of the websites
(for whatever they are worth) is said to be more durable and
user-friendly. The books on the "First" system are not secured and fall
out when lifted up. Also, the pens tend to fail a bit more often, it is
said. It isn't much cheaper,
isn't more travel-friendly, and is just a lesser version of the original.
(Note:
The store that we were at tonight didn't have a copy of the "First" pad,
so we couldn't hold/sample it, unlike the regular LeapPad.

Spouse's View: My First LeapPad will be good on travel, the books can
be secured with some work, and she could likely use it from the car seat.
The pens are easily manageable to her (as she has done on the
MagnaDoodle), and she's not as rough with her toys as some kids are, thus
will be unlikely to cause harm to the thing. She's younger, and the
First item is more appropriate to her age.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.? I know little about these
beyond reading some reviews and seeing them briefly in the stores.
I was hoping to get some input from those who are more experienced.
If I'm way off, in your view, go ahead and say it, and I won't be
offended. Thanks. ;-)

P. Tierney

I don't think you are "way off" nor your spouse either. Purchasing any
toy can be a risky investment, but moreso the 'electronics'. (one of my
big favorites is Vtech's "Fish and Count" that we got for Kaler when he
was three. It was such a big hit at his preschool 'show and tell' that
other parents (and teacher) were asking where they could purchase one. We
purchased the first "frog thing" (phonic's read and write desk) shortly
after, and it now is ready for garage sale as opposed to the Fish and
Count which is still being used. At almost six y.o. now, we got him first
LeapPad (#3) about a year and half ago. Wife and I are satisfied with it
as it is durable, (we haven't had to replace the batteries yet) he uses
it alot. There is a great selection of books (a tad expensive imo) It is
good for trips and especially as a 'rainy day toy' and for social
interaction. (When his friends come over it is one of first toys that
they all play with. Also when Gram and Gramp or other (Elderly) family
comes over,he likes to show it off and his skill to them. They tend to
understand it much more than his PC. (which of course isn't portable).
The "magnadoodle" and "Etch a Sketch" are still popular as are his toy
soldiers, etc. I don't think a parent would regret the purchase of any
LeapPad sysem for their child, as someone else said, "it's a good tool."
You know what they say about the right tool for the right job. Hope this
helps. Dennis

(H Schinske) wrote:
wrote:

My spouse and I have two areas of disagreement on the
LeapPad/Frog/Thing.
I'd appreciate any input.

My son (four) has one (the My First LeapPad, I think, possibly an older
version, it has no separate books) that we got secondhand. We get it out
now and then and usually he ends up banging on it to make it quack
"THAT'S the, THAT's the, THAT's the" over and over, and it goes back in
the basement.

I can't see that it's taught him a darned thing except a new way to annoy
Mama. (He doesn't have any other toys with batteries. I have an unusually
low tolerance for that kind of noise. Having it in the back of the car on
a trip would be my idea of utter hell.)

The LeapPad learning System does has jack's for headphones, (I bought them
because he likes to be cool) and they do come in handy at times. But, I
prefer the interaction and conversation over the Pinball Wizard Scenario.
If one really wants to put an end to backseat noise. I've found that a
purchase of CD's or cassettes of the music that children really like (I'd
recommend anything by: "Kidzup" (www.kidzup.com) very educational and
quite an upbeat (boogie-woogie, country and lite rock) to the traditional
songs we were brought up with. Hey, they are snappy but you might end up
with "Three little Fishies" going through your head for some time after
the trip. ( : Usually though with a little imagination you can make those
long trips quite pleasurable and the kidlets can learn at the same time.
Dennis

He *has* sat there and typed in words (there is a thing where you put in
three letters and it tells you if you made a word), but he tends to do
the same ones over and over. BUS BUS BUS and that kind of thing. The only
way it's built vocabulary is that his older sisters sit around thinking
of unusual three-letter words that it doesn't recognize. ("A, S, P, ah,
ss, puh. You made a cool sound!")

There isn't any clever programming to tell you if you added instead of
subtracting, or anything like that, it just tells you to try again.

Basically, in our case it doesn't work as a "keep child quiet in a
non-annoying fashion" item, nor does it work to teach the child anything.

--Helen

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 07:02:21 GMT, "P. Tierney"
wrote:

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.?

Well, anything with batteries is an almost automatic no with me.
I hate them! We have only both DD 2 things that require
batteries -- a keyboard and an Elmo. She has others, but they
were given to her, and I don't like them.

Don't know if that helps, but I wouldn't buy it for my DD.

--
==Daye==
E-mail: brendana AT labyrinth DOT net DOT au

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:19:58 GMT, "P. Tierney"
wrote:

How successful are you (or anyone else?) at doing this?

We only allow a small number of electronic toys in the house.
Mostly they are hand-me-down toys (about 4 total). The family
*knows* not to buy toys with batteries.

We allowed the hand-me-down battery toys into the house.
Frankly, we could have said, "No, thank you," but we didn't.

--
==Daye==
E-mail: brendana AT labyrinth DOT net DOT au

Let me clarify my personal position on the whole LeapFrog thing -

I'd like to see my children enjoy books for their own sake, minus all the
electronic bells and whistles. My comment was intended, not to offend
anyone who may find such devices useful, but to explain my own feeling on
the matter. I do not want my daughter playing with such products on a
regular basis - either supervised or unsupervised.

To each their own.

theother Cheryl

"Cheryl M. (ChatBrat)" wrote in message
...

"P. Tierney" wrote in message
news:1c8Pa.24540$N7.2778@sccrnsc03...
My spouse and I have two areas of disagreement on the
LeapPad/Frog/Thing.
I'd appreciate any input. They are in the areas of:

1. Should we buy a LeapPad "system" for our child?

My view: While it seems fine, regular reading to her also suffices.
Also, she often favors toys that are electronic (bells, whistles,
noises,
lights) over more simple things, and I worry what kind of trend that
is setting for her long-term. It seems like the first step towards an
older child that sits and plays video games too much, with the same
lights, noises, etc. She does play imaginatively and she's active. And
while we can afford it, the long-term costs of such a thing, with the
extra books and such to buy, seem a tad high for the gains that one
might have.

Spouse's view: She already has a good vocabulary and she thinks that
this will help her build it even more. While she may not quite be ready
for it, we can still get it and she can get into it whenever she is
ready.
It shouldn't stunt her imagination at all, but assist it, and electronic
items are just the way things are now (i.e., loud and flashy
sit-and-spins
instead of the old kind). It'll also be good for trips, a few of which
we
have coming up. Also, she has two smaller toys from that company,
given as gifts, and she likes them both.


2. If we buy, should we get My First LeapPad, or just the regular
LeapPad?

My view: The regular LeapPad, going by comments on some of the websites
(for whatever they are worth) is said to be more durable and
user-friendly.
The books on the "First" system are not secured and fall out when lifted
up.
Also, the pens tend to fail a bit more often, it is said. It isn't
much
cheaper,
isn't more travel-friendly, and is just a lesser version of the
original.
(Note:
The store that we were at tonight didn't have a copy of the "First" pad,
so
we couldn't hold/sample it, unlike the regular LeapPad.

Spouse's View: My First LeapPad will be good on travel, the books can
be secured with some work, and she could likely use it from the car
seat.
The pens are easily manageable to her (as she has done on the
MagnaDoodle),
and she's not as rough with her toys as some kids are, thus will be
unlikely
to cause harm to the thing. She's younger, and the First item is more
appropriate to her age.


Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc.? I know little about
these
beyond reading some reviews and seeing them briefly in the stores.
I was hoping to get some input from those who are more experienced.
If I'm way off, in your view, go ahead and say it, and I won't be
offended.
Thanks. ;-)




P. Tierney



Personally, I wouldn't own one/will not own one for our daughter. I am
very
much against anything that replaces parent/child reading time. As for the
imagination squelching debate, the jury is still out on that one.

When it comes to reading, nothing beats a big arm chair and a cuddly
kid/parent combo imo.

theother Cheryl

wrote:

Honestly though, I just buy toys that are cool and what I think
they would have liked when they were smaller. I didn't worry that it wasn't
educational or whatever. Everything that goes on in a babies life is
educational.

I've got to agree to that. It just really bugs me when a toy with stated
educational aims doesn't in fact do those things AND it isn't that much fun.

--Helen