Hi all.

My girls will be 3 next week. I want to get each of them some kind of portable learning game as a bday present and want opinions on what is best for their age and/or, for those of you with older kids, what your kids liked at this age.

My First LeapPad is for their age range, but seems kind of limited as far as what it does.

Leapster is for ages 4 and up. The learning activities seem more interesting but I'm wondering if it is too sophisticated for them...

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

I will be taking a 10 hour car ride with them and my mom this summer so I definitely need something besides DVDs to keep them busy!

TIA!

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Mommy to Identical Twin Girls
Amanda & Lauren

This is a tough one. In our house we have Little Touch Leap Pad, which would definitely be too young for your girls.

We also have a regular Leap Pad (a hand-me-down from our cousins) which is good, but a little too hard for Gregory still. Most of the books for the regular Leap Pad start at age 5 or 6, so Greg is just now starting to get any real use out of it.

We also have the Leapster and WE LOVE IT!!! Greg got it for his 4th birthday and could play and understand all the games right away. But, he tried one out last spring not long after he turned 3 and had a little harder time. He still enjoyed it, but it was definitely a bit challenging. Do you know anyone who has one? It would be great if you could let the girls try one out first to see how easy/hard it is for them.

We don't have My First Leap Pad (can you believe it, since we seem to have everything else this company makes). From what I hear it would be very appropriate for the girls 3rd birthday.

I don't know if that is very helpful or not. I do think that the Leap Frog products are very age specific. We seem to outgrow them and have to buy whole new systems around here. (Thus the MANY different products from them.) It works okay for us, since Greg has a little sister to pass them down to. I can also say that everything we have gotten from that company has been very popular with the kids. They never seem to get bored with the systems. And, as a teacher, I truly think they are indeed a great mix of educational and fun.

Let us know what you choose!

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Melissa - Mommy to Greg & Ashley

Please Visit Our Family Blog! www.pedrofamilyfun.blogspot.com

Hey Julie! Was updating the EDD list for the mults board and I saw your name and just decided to check up on you and the girls! I came across this post and thought maybe I could offer my two cents as well.

My two were 4 when they got the Leapsters. They LOVED them and still to this day love them!! However, I'm not sure if they will be a tad too hard for your two yet. They have to know how to manipulate the arrow pad and the buttons, which might be be tough for your girls still.

But the learning cartridges are probably good for them now. I found by the time my two were 4, they were already doing the 1st & 2nd grade levels. So I think seeing as how smart your two are, they could do the Preschool & Kindergarten levels. It's just the controls that might take time to learn. But the LMax can be hooked up to the tv and you could do it with them to start out.

If you do decide to get them, don't be surprised if they don't take to it right away. Hold on to them, cuz they will in time. You could just introduce them at another time. Definitely worth the investment IMO tho.

Never tried the My First LeapPad. We had the Read & Write LeapPad. My two did like that and it was easier for them to use at a much younger age. They got that for xmas when they were 2 1/2. So I would recommend that one, because it probably has a few more books/activities than the smaller one from what I've seen of it. Again, they still use it to this day (but not as often as the Leapsters).

Hope that helps!

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