Electronic Toy for 3Yr Old???

When my mother in law told me that she's buying a leapster for my 3 year old, I felt the same way at first. But then I looked into it a bit more, and it does seem really educational. We love her other Leap Frog toys, especially fridge phonics. I also bought her Word Whammer for the fridge for xmas because she now knows all of the letter sounds and wants to make words. I agree with most of the others- just monitor how much time he spends on it. There are all different ways to learn, including electronically in this day!

My parents gave this to my daughter when she was 3 last xmas. I had some of the same reservations that you do. She really didn't do much with it and only now has gained more interest. I do think it's been a good, different thing for her to do/learn. It takes dexterity and there are some fun and educational cards to plug in. She'll pull it out every now and again and play quietly in her room, which is good for me! My neighbor's son is more into it and so she just limits his time as she does TV. Overall, I think it's a really nice play option. Great for travel, too.

Hi E.-
The Leapster games are educational and age appropriate. Good choice.

I wanted to mention about your son's December birthday....I was born on Christmas Eve, and my Mom made the best of it when I was a kid. I felt very special.

Have your son's birthday party at least a couple weeks before his actual birthday (he won't mind getting gifts early). It will help separate it from Christmas in his mind, and in the minds of his friends and family.

My mom always made sure no one used Christmas wrapping paper or gave "combined" gifts. Just because a birthday falls near Christmas, doesn't mean the child deserves to feel less special on their day. I was spoiled rotten, but it was a long time between presents. Maybe when he's older, he might like the idea of the 1/2 birthday....celebrate in June!

Both of my kids (5&3) have a leapster (both received on 3rd b-days). In the beginning he probably will get bored pretty easy with it or become a little discouraged but my 3 1/2 yr old now plays with hers quite a bit. There are many games to choose from but most have educational value (letters, numbers, colors, etc.). It has also helped my three yr old in how to hold a writing utensil correctly as the electronic pen that is used is small and forces them to be precise. I limit their times that they can use it but have found them to be more of a help(educationally) than a hindrance.

Leapster is great. Just remember that kids need time to develop their own interests also. Too much of one thing can bore them also. An hour is probably a good long time for someone of his age. Happy holidays mommy.

I guess, like a lot of other things, this is a matter of opinion on the TV/electronic toy thing. Personally, I'm a huge gadget freak. Heck, we have 2 desktops and 2 laptops at our house - for two adults. That being said, I am careful with the amount of electronic time our boys have. My 3.5 year old had the My First Leap Pad when he was 6 months (it was a gift). The age on it is 6 - 36M. Please. He didn't touch it until about 18M or so. And then, we would sit with him and he loved it. It helped him with his letters a lot. Until about 3 months ago, we would read him three books at night and then he would be allowed to play in his bed with the "Letter Game" for 15 minutes on his own. Most of the time we would hear it hit the floor before the time was up and he would go to sleep.

For some reason, he doesn't play with it anymore, but found another game (another gift) that shows him how to write the letters and other things. He'll play that at night after his books. Again, he gets 15 minutes and then I put it away.

The way I see it, as long as they are educational and not over-used, there isn't anything wrong with them. We just bought him the Vtech Laptop for Christmas to help him with the mouse and such. I'm sure he'll love it.

Another good point for our son...he's VERY active and has no attention span. It's nice for him to sit for 15 minutes on the couch or in his room and CONCENTRATE on one thing.

Of course, it's all about what you and hubby are comfortable with. Have a great Holiday.

Hi E. H, I agree with your friend, the leapster is very good for your will be in two weeks 3 year old. He will love it and learn a lot from it. Good luck

S.

3 yrs is too young for a Leapster. That is more for 5 and up. My 6 year-old daughter has one, and her 3 year-old brother thinks he's playing with it, but he's really just pressing buttons. I hear you on trying to avoid electronics. I would much rather see my kids playing with things that don't light up and make noise, but some can be educational at the preschool age if you sit with them while they're doing it. A good electronic toy for a 3 year-old is the Elmo Laptop. It tips over easily, so they have to have it in their lap when they're playing it, but it's perfect for their age. There is also a Star Wars laptop computer that my son enjoys playing with, and it's geared towards preschoolers. Leap Frog also makes My First Leap Pad. We have one from when my daughter was in preschool. She loved it, and that is why we saved it for him, but he doesn't seem to be interested in it. We'll try it again when he's a little older.

A leapster is a great idea. The games are educational and you have control of how much your child to uses it.

When I was younger I had a friend who had a birthday of Dec.23rd so his family decided to celebrate on his 1/2 birthday. So every June 23rd they had a party.

J. B.

I had the same mental debate about this last year when my son was just turning 3. We decided to go ahead and get the Leapster for him with the age appropriate games. I am glad that we did. It definitely has taken him awhile to learn to use it but now at almost 4 it is great for long car trips, airplane rides and restaurants. That is really the only time we bring it out.
FYI, we got him the CARS game for preschool age and he loves it. He only has one other game besides the stuff that comes on it.
Best of luck.

I think it would depend on the type of electronic game. If it is one of those that hooks into the TV, then you are right, they aren't all that great for kids. There is a great book "Einstein didn't use Flashcards" and it is full of research on early childhood development and shows that so much of the toys from the billion dollar learning toys industry are not really the best way for children to learn because they are 2 D, rather than 3D. Children learn best with tactile and contextual learning. Children tend to interact with a TV screen much more passively.

Please get him a Leap Frog! This is a wonderful educational and fun way of learning and having fun. You must go in and look at it personally their are a variety of units to choose from and trust me you will want them all. Have fun with selecting!

Personally, I'd hold off until he's older. It is a great educational toy, in fact I got my son one last year when he was 4/12. At that point my son knew all of his letters/numbers and enjoyed the challenge of building on the skills he had learned without any electronic helpers. There are so many other great toys out there that are beneficial to a three year old...do you have the leapfrop fridgephonics? It won't be long until your son will request video game thingys on his own. The benefits of a Leapster will still be there for him next year, and he'll appreciate it much more then too. Happy Holidays!

totally get it. i have 5 kids and 3 leapsters. they are worth the money. my 3 year old knows all his letters, sounds and can write them. he can already read too. i can honestly say the leapster was a big help. you are the parent, just monitor how much it is used. i like them for bedtime and car trips.

i think it is better to start the leapster at or five.

E.,

Good question. I select toys for kids in waiting areas at a hospital and avoid electronic games. Someone on this web site wrote that "the more the toy does, the less the child does" and I loved it. Children do not know how to pretend anymore because the toys do it all. I buy things that allow the child to manipulate them, increase verbal skills, foster creativity and can be played with in different ways.

I love plain wooden blocks. My kids played with them for years in different ways. You can add cars and trucks, dinosaurs, little people, animals etc. My kids even made mazes for our guinea pig to walk through! I think that was my favorite.

If you want to read a great article,google Millie Almay' "A Child's Right To Play". It is wonderful!

Have a good holiday. A.

My daughters don't watch tv. We have a tv, but we don't have cable or any programming coming into the house. The don't own handheld games or have a WI (however you spell it) or a Ninetindo or anything like that. My aunt got them an old system Atari two years ago and we got them a Leapfrog that plugs into the same little tv. I watch how much they play either of them. All the games for the Leapster are geared toward education. My youngest daughter was 2 when we got them. She just turned four yesterday. She's not one to sit still and let me work with her much like her older sister did, but she's very smart. She can count well over 30, she can recite and recognize all her letters and their sounds. She can read to some degree. She recognizes her numbers and she can add as well. I attribute some of that to playing the Leapster.

My husband and I have always focused on educational toys. Most everything electronic in our house is educational. LeapPad reading system, LeapFrog letter game, Leapster tv system, pretend laptop computer that teachers in English and Spanish. I think as long as you supervise the time your children play with these items there is no need to worry and it can actually be beneficial in their education.

I agree with you about electronic toys and tv. I bought my nephew the new Automoblox cars. They are an awesome toy for ages 3-9? It's a wooden car that the kids can take apart and put back together so it teaches problem solving. You can look it up at www.automoblox.com
I think they are sold at Target.

My daughter is three and enjoys the leapster she has as well as the vtech computer. She plays with them occasionally so it's not something she always on. I think in todays time kids spend to much time on the computer and playing video games and less time outside, were they should be. So that's very important to me that she's playing outside. But they are also being raised in a time of electronics. I think things can be good in moderation. I recommend the vtech. It's only about $20 and teaches letters and numbers and has simple games for a three year old but also ones they can play as they get older. My daughter got it at two and was old enough to use it.

Hi. Well my daughter loves electronics and she is almost 4. I limit her time of course but she loves the little laptops that teach the alphabet and shapes. She also loves the Leapfrog my 1st leap pad that reads stories and has interactions. I just recently purchased the Leapfrog leapster2 for Christmas because she wanted a handheld game like her cousin who has the Nintendo DS (which is not age appropriate for her yet). She also has the Vtech video game and learns about letters and shapes too. They have so many out there now that it can become overwhelming but good luck! I am sure he will love whatever you choose. My daughter enjoys that I sit next to her as she plays with them!

I understand you not wanting to expose your kids to electronics and tv but for me I need it. Otherwise I get no break at all and it's benefited my oldest son's vocabulary. My oldest son will be turning 3 next month, but he already knows how to use the mouse on the computer and plays the free PBS games on their website, like Barney and Bob the Builder. He even plays on my hubbies DS. He's been playing since he was 2. We were surprised at how well he plays with them, and instantly knows what to do, and he just loves to play. He only plays educational games though. And he's learned so much. He's so proud when he plays the matching game and gets everything right, or puts the puzzle pieces together. His speech has sky-rocketed also from watching tv. And I even use some of his favorite shows in discussing things so he understands. He will often say "oh, like Caillou" and stuff like that. So I don't feel 3 is too young but it also depends on the kid. My youngest son who is 1 has no interest. He doesn't have as much interest in TV and computer games. He'd rather play with his cars. My niece who just turned 3 also not into the electronic stuff, although she loves her digital camera. So, I don't necessarily think it's the age as much as the kid. I would love to get my son a leapster but since he plays on the DS my hubbie refuses to let me buy it. He's happy playing on the DS. Don't get me wrong, my oldest son loves to play outside and loves to play pretend all the time too. And he's been to many museums and has lots of toys to play with as well. We try to keep them well rounded. But some of the educational toys and shows these days can be beneficial. I mean it's not like the shows we had when we were kids. All I can say is thank goodness for PBS, Sprout and Disney. Otherwise nothing would get done at my house, especially since I'm a working mother.

E.,

A big part of the answer depends on what type of child you have. I bought my son a leapster for his 3rd birthday and he loves it. He doesn't know how to play all the stuff, but it is educational.

Another good game is the Whiz Kid. I bought that for my daughter and my son plays all the time. It plugs up to the tv or plays separately. It is also educational.

I limit the time that my kids can play on their games/watch tv. During the week, after homework, they can have 1 1/2 hours to play games or watch tv. On the weekends I usually give them alittle longer. It seems to work fine for them.

Good luck

We got my daughter the "My First Leap Pad" for her 3rd birthday. We also limit her exposure to TV and electronics. However, she loves her Leap Pad. Many of the activities are educational (finding things of various shapes, colors, numbers, etc.) and she knows how to use it all by herself which gives her a lot of confidence.