We are getting my daughter one of these handheld learning games for Christmas (she'll be 4 in Feb) and I'm not sure which is better. We've gone to the stores to let her play w/ the displays, and she doesn't seem to have a preference, but definitely shows interest in both. If you have one, which do you have and why would you recommend it. What do you and you child love/don't like about it? Thanks so much!!
My son is almost 5. He has had a Leapster handheld since his birthday in March. He absolutely loves it! I love it too! I love it because all the games are educational. Every game says on the box what kind of skills it helps with whether its math, reading, letters, etc. so you can enhance skills they already have or help them with new skills. He is able to pick up on each game rather quickly. It walks him thru how to play each game and teaches him along the way as the game changes. The games also have some of his favorite cartoon and movie characters which makes it more appealing to him. The games are also rated by age and I think they got the ages just right. He has 5 games (Wall-E, Cars, Finding Nemo, Pet Pals, and Digging for Dinosaurs). Your daughter would love Pet Pals! She will be able to "pick" her own puppy and take care of it by washing it, feeding it, walking it, teaching it tricks, etc. My friend's daughter has the Leapster and she loves the Disney Princess game. I highly reccommend the Leapster system.
The only experience I have ever had with V-Tech games was with the V-Smile game console for the TV. My son played it at a friends' house and he never really took to it.
Good Luck!!!
I have four daughters and we have 3 Leapsters and one DIDJ and the girls love them all. We have two Leapsters and one Leapster 2 along with nearly every game that they make for the system. The variety of games is super and the graphics are great. I would definitely invest in the Leapster Recharger so that you don't have to chase around for batteries all of the time. Right now, Leapfrog is offering several Leapster bundles for a reduced price along with free shipping. You can't beat that deal anywhere. My only "complaint" is that occasionally you have to blow out the games to get them to load properly. My youngest child needs help to get this done, otherwise they use the Leapster independently.
We have had the leapster for 4 yrs now and our second son is now using it. I love that it's easy for him and the games are all educational. They have the ages listed on them and tell you what skills it teaches. We typicaly keep it put away and use it for vacations or when we go somewhere that we need some entertainment for him to be quiet.
Okay, I don't really have an exact answer for you. But I will tell you that I posed this question last March when I was shopping for my daughter's 6th birthday. However, I was trying to decide between the Leapster and the Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, no one responded to my question and I ended up purchasing the DS. She played with it like 3 times before it broke, and I have been dealing with the warranty people to try to get it fixed since last summer.
Sooo, hindsight 20/20, I definitely wish would have gotten her the Leapster. She had the school bus shaped leap pad since she was about 3 and will STILL occasionally play with it.
I just think that Leap makes great products. When she was one we got her the play table thing and now my 3rd child who is one plays with it daily. You just can't go wrong with that brand. Hope that helps!
I have a friend whose son loves, loves, loves his Vtech hand held. I think their probably about the same. I'd look at the prices of the cartridges because, for me, that would affect how many games my child would actually end up getting during the course of time he owned it.
Love the Leapster. My boys have had their Leapsters for almost 5 years. We've never had any problems with them and my boys have learned a lot with them. I don't know the V-Tech enough to compare.
Hi Veronica,
We got our five year old son a hand held Leapster last year for Christmas when he was four. He LOVES it and play it alot. It's great for long car rides or hanging out in a waiting room. And to top it off it really helps them to learn new skills. I'm really happy with our purchase and their customer service. My son dropped his and the screen went dark. They were happy to send us a new one in the mail without any problems.
Caroline