Parents: need Leap Frog pads' advice!

[Miss Mary]

Anyone have Leap Frog learning pad books at home for their kids? If so, do they work well or malfunction a lot?

This is the pad another aunt and I bought together for our 4 year old niece (xmas gift):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... maginarium

A few reviews for this one and other Leap Frog products are negative. So I don't want to give this to her, if it's going to be frustrating, always breaking down.

Thanks!

Mary

[chadtm80]

Anyone have Leap Frog learning pad books at home for their kids? If so, do they work well or malfunction a lot?

This is the pad another aunt and I bought together for our 4 year old niece:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... maginarium

A few reviews for this one and other Leap Frog products are negative. So I don't want to give this to her, if it's going to be frustrating, always breaking down.

Thanks!

Mary

Mary, Jenn and I have leap frog EVERYTHING for Dustin.. It is a GREAT product line imo.. We have had no problems with any it.. From the learning books down to just the plain old Leapfrog toys.. I reccomend them Fully.. Ill let Jenn know about this topic when she gets home from school, and she can testify for them too.

[alicia-w]

We bought some of those for my grandson and they havent had any problems...

[Miss Mary]

Chad and Alicia! Wow, 2 responses right away. Thank you so much!!! You see I'm seeing this aunt tomorrow and I want to say with certainty I got the right pad! Some of the reviews for it didn't sound positive. And we're only trying to get our niece ready for K, not make it harder on the mom.

We're considering exchanging it for the red pad with microphone, since it had better reviews over the one I gave a link for above:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 6795UKMFR9

But after your glowing reports Chad, maybe we should keep the blue one?

Our niece only knew one letter - J for her first name, Julie - 2 months ago. She starts K next August! So we just want to help her along. She's in pre-school too.

Mary

[alicia-w]

wow. that's not good. my 19month old granddaughter knows her alphabet and can count to 20 (in both English and Spanish)

She'd better get crackin on that leap pad!!!

[Miss Mary]

Alicia - now you can see why we want to help her!!! But at the same time, not irritate the mom (who's fully intending on sending her to K at age 5). I'm going to sell this as a toy, but you and I both know we're trying to teach her all letters and numbers before K. If I had my way, she'd know 20 sight words too. But she's not my child.

Ironically my daughter Laura, who's 14 and was diagnosed with ADD 3 years ago, is the one who highly suggested this gift! Yes my child said we have to buy this for her. I think even Laura sees she's somewhat behind too. And doesn't want Julie to struggle in K like she did.

Mary

PS - I should add that Julie can say all letters and numbers but writing them is another story. I had to the bright idea of teaching her 3 a day when I watched her this past summer. The first day I wanted to teach her A B and C. We couldn't get past A! And it kept coming out sideways, like an H. But I did try!!! This was back in August. I do think she recognizes some letters.

[chadtm80]

wow. that's not good. my 19month old granddaughter knows her alphabet and can count to 20 (in both English and Spanish)

She'd better get crackin on that leap pad!!!

Yikes.. Thats impressive.. So what steps did you take to teach her?

[chadtm80]

Marry I will have Jenn come check this thread out.. She belongs to a few "Mother" boards where they discuss and rate toys etc.. So she will prob have better info for you then I do

[BaltimoreGirl]

I have one of the original Leap Pads(it's got to be 6+ years old) and it still works great. Have used it with both of my kids and have never had a problem with it. It does act a little funky when the batteries are winding down, but a fresh set of batteries has always corrected the problem.

Another great learning electronic toy is the Sega Pico. It hooks directly to the TV and kids can learn reading and math through different games. I'm not a big fan of video games, but the Pico, isn't the typical video game.

[Miss Mary]

Well, it's settled - I think we're keeping the one we bought. Everyone here endorses Leap Pad products so they must be good. I told my daughter I consulted with 'my wx board' - she gave me her 875th rolled eye look. But hey, she said if they like Leap Pads, they must be okay!

So thanks everyone......just didn't want to saddle my sister-in-law with a 'toy' that would break down a lot. Shades of my kids' Barbie doll houses/cars/campers, etc. phase. Ugh! You'd spend hours putting them together and then piece by piece, your child would keep bringing them to you - here's a door Mom, now a steering wheel, etc. Near the end of their playing days, Barbie Land at my house was looking like a deserted, bombed out camp! We still laugh at what a joke Barbie products were.

Mary

[weathermom]

Mary, Hate to be the negative, but I have to be honest. We have had 2 leap pads die on us. They are a great toy, and my kids loved them. They didn't die in a hurry, and maybe it was just their time. I would say they each lasted 1 1/2-2 years. I guess what I am saying is you shouldnt have any problems right away, but maybe down the road a bit, they might conk out. The leapfrog products are all great learning toys, and I had enough confidence in their products to get my older daughter the I-Quest, where she can download quizzes to match her textbooks and even SAT prep materials.

[Miss Mary]

wxmom - thanks for your honesty. I never buy extended warranties but this time I did, since it was a gift. And only $3 more, at ToysRUs. Glad I did now, in case it breaks down. Hopefully if it lasts 1.5 years by then it will have done it's job!

Appreciate your reply.

Mary

[Amanzi]

Mary, I can testify that leap products are wonderful. My son is five and started k this year. He is reading at a second grade level already!!!!! I atribute a lot of his knowledge to computer software. The winnie the phoo learning series is great fun and he has learnt a LOAD from the series. The leap pad's are great fun and really do enforce phonics.

With regards to her learning to write. It is vital she gets the angle of a line right first, this is key to good penmanship later. Try giving her some fun dot-to-dot worksheets (my son loves to see what the picture is going to be) also tracers are great. There is a world of free worksheets (that dont seem like worksheets, just fun activities for kids) online, that you can print, or do on the computer. Do a google search for free pre-k activities and printables.

I think you have done a wonderful thing by trying to help this little girl. I was really scared and nervous for my son when I saw the stuff he was going to be learing in K. I thought he was going to have a really hard time, as I home schooled him through pre-k. The schools really expect a lot from such little ones. If you need any extra resources let me know

[Guest]

Mary, I absolutely love the Leap Frog line. Not only are their toys educational, but they're fun to kids to play with. Dustin went through a phase where all he played with was Leap Frog toys. When they seem to "break down", it's just that they need new batteries, at least in my experience. Mary, I think it's a wonderful gift. I'm sure it will serve the purpose that you intend. I highly recommend the Leap Frog line.
...Jennifer...

[chadtm80]

Let us know how it goes Mary!!


-Off Topic Chad-

[Miss Mary]

Hello Off Topic Chad!!! LOL

We're keeping the Leap pad we purchased. The little girl's aunts (3 out of 4 are teachers) are in favor of this gift, so the mom is on board now. As far as me spending quality instruction time with the child, we're just the fill-in family sitter and/or summer sitter (mother works two 12 hour nursing weekend shifts as a nurse, dad is disabled). So when I have her next time, I'll be sure to give it my shot! I'll enjoy reading and working with Julie, I just don't know when I'll be called upon.

Mary