LeapPad, Innotab, etc toys for kids

sundaygirl

I know it's been discussed here before but I'm finally jumping on the wagon.  Considering a LeapPad or Innotab for the kid (who will be 4 in the spring).  My hesitation is that we let him play games on our phones - so he's used to having lots of apps at his fingertips.  Will he be bored with one of these kids toys?  Do they go through batteries like crazy? 

I briefly considered a Kindle Fire but I think it's too fragile for a kid like him.  Plus we don't have wi-fi at home - and he'd probably just want to watch Netflix on it. 

Any advice appreciated, including for the other game systems like Leapster and MobiGo.

egpitt22

I can't help you out as far as the playing games on phones goes (since I am in the dark ages of not having a data plan), but I can chime in that the leap pad does not seem to go through batteries at a terrible pace.  you can also put rechargeables in it, so that definitely helps. 

 I will say that Jake played with my MIL's iPad when we were there for Thanksgiving a lot over the few days, but went right back to the leap pad on the car ride home yesterday.  Of course, he did ask, "how old do you have to be for Santa to bring you an iPad like Nana?"  

rona118

Last year we got DD a mobigo after I researched it and the leapster. I just felt it was a better fit for her. Well I also got an ipad and she plays with that way more..... I considered selling the mobigo because she never uses it. I got the car adapter, battery charger etc If no ipad at home.... you might be golden. Ha.

mrjk322

Thanks for asking this... my in-laws want to get our oldest the innotab 2 (they didn't mention any of the others) since he loves playing angry birds on my mil's ipad.  We have an ipad ourselves but do not let our son use it.  I take that back he does occassionally (more like seldomly) to look at pictures and watch movies.  I am afraid that he will not have interest in a kid version tablet.  Plus I do not want to use it as a crutch to get him to behave, for instance taking it when we go out to eat.

Also, how much are additional apps and the speed of the tablet?

sundaygirl

rona118:

Last year we got DD a mobigo after I researched it and the leapster. I just felt it was a better fit for her. Well I also got an ipad and she plays with that way more..... I considered selling the mobigo because she never uses it. I got the car adapter, battery charger etc If no ipad at home.... you might be golden. Ha.

so if he doesn't know what he's missing, he might go for it?  Ha!  I was looking at the MobiGo.  The reviews look great.

Temp752290812504671

egpitt22:

 

 I will say that Jake played with my MIL's iPad when we were there for Thanksgiving a lot over the few days, but went right back to the leap pad on the car ride home yesterday.  Of course, he did ask, "how old do you have to be for Santa to bring you an iPad like Nana?"  

Well, my parents bought my nephew one last year for his birthday/Christmas so 6.

rona118

Yes I think so. I looked over the games and it seemed the Mobigo was  a better fit and the leapster was a little over her head. She was turning 3 and we needed to work on numbers and letters vs phonics etc. I looked everywhere online and ended up ordering right from vtech online. seemed to have the best bundles. Hope that helps!!

lishie

egpitt22:

Of course, he did ask, "how old do you have to be for Santa to bring you an iPad like Nana?"  

Emmy, Steve's mom brought a mini for Michael when she came for Thanksgiving, so you can tell him 20 months

Luckystar2

We got dd a mobigo 2 Christmases ago so she was 2.5. She uses it some but not a ton. However it was cheaper than other things so I feel like we've gotten our money worth. 

Dd does prefer my iPhone but she only can use that when I let her vs the mobigo when she wants. Like if I need my phone or don't want to run down my battery! Dd also uses dh's iPad at times and laptop. I think they all serve their purpose. I wouldn't dream of buying dd an iPad as she would destroy it.  And like I said she probably likes my phone the best but she can't use that all the time. As for the other kid devices at the time we bought the mobigo there weren't as many and I really wanted to just stick with a lower cost option.

As for batteries we use rechargeable ones. 

AmandaJLewis

We have the leappad, and Eleni likes it. She has one cartridge, and I downloaded a couple stories to it as well.  It has gotten her through the year with moderate usage. This year she will get a few more games for it. So I think that will help. I don't let her use my phone much. Unless we are in a dire situation. Because I don't share well. I have a nook color which she was also familiar with, but it also came with some pretty tight restrictions.

amyjoy18

DD got an innotab, Fisher Price iXL and a vReader from her grandpappy last year for Christmas (her cousins got laptops so he was trying to keep it even.)  I'd say she plays with all of them equally.  We however don't have an iPad, so she doesn't know what she's missing.  She has played a game on my android phone, but she prefers her games because they're easier for her. 

Of the 3, I prefer the innotab, although we've only gotten the game cartriges, I haven't ventured into downloading apps--because I haven't boughten an SD card yet (although I think the new one comes with one). 

I think it's the easiest to navigate.  It comes iwth some little apps on it, coloring, art studio, practicing letters, a few little games.  And then each game cartidge comes with books and games.

The iXL has cds that you have to load onto your computer and then onto the game system, which is a PITA.   And the vReader now seems kind of dated.

egpitt22

InnoTab is on sale on amazon today for $40: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004VJNRKG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004VJNRKG&linkCode=as2&tag=coupocravi-20

billiburrows

we just got our son the LeapPad2 for his 3rd birthday.  so far i am very happy with it.  it holds his attention for a while but doesn't totally consume him like watching tv does.  he is enjoying the free aps- he likes tracing letters, playing with this pet thing on there, taking pics with the camera and then editing the pics with stamps, colors, stretching it, etc.  he doesn't like to share so i've only been able to show him a very small amount on it and he has basically self taught himself most of it.  i think it is an expensive gift....but so far so good. we bought the battery recharger and it works good. we aren't going through batteries as quickly as i thought we would be. i think i've only charged it twice so far. he plays with it every day for about a 1/2 hour and that's pretty good for his attention span.

6307bride

We got the Nabi tab from Walmart for Faith over the weekend! We went to a couple stores,where she could actually play with one too! And I can't wait to give it to her! It comes preloaded with 200 free games, 20 ebooks, 50 songs, and more!!! And I read that everything if you would buy something for it only ranges from .99-5.99!! Which I see is way more affordable than the leapfrog stuff and they show online how this grows with her more. I know it's still on sale at best buy for $160 something vs the original $200 price tag....we got ours Black Friday for $129! It's more like an iPad for kids but android based.

Jefsnickerdodle

6307bride:

We got the Nabi tab from Walmart for Faith over the weekend! We went to a couple stores,where she could actually play with one too! And I can't wait to give it to her! It comes preloaded with 200 free games, 20 ebooks, 50 songs, and more!!! And I read that everything if you would buy something for it only ranges from .99-5.99!! Which I see is way more affordable than the leapfrog stuff and they show online how this grows with her more. I know it's still on sale at best buy for $160 something vs the original $200 price tag....we got ours Black Friday for $129! It's more like an iPad for kids but android based.

 

We decided to go this route too. Dh saw the leap pad last year and we didnt think he was ready and already had a handheld game thing. We were going to go Leap pad this year. Well in the last year he has started playin gall the angry birds and cut the rope and things on DH's phone so we figured going with a Tablet were he can do the same things is a better options. 1. he will still want to use DH's phone to play those games if he had a leap pad 2. you still have to buy games at a much higher price and 3. he already has a "game" thing similar.

Someone else said kindle, which you can get cheaper then the Nabi 2 but they are not made for kids- you can get a kid case but then you are looking at the same price anyway and you arent getting a Kid ready item.

they Nabi, as mentioned is set up for kids.  ALSO since it is Android based you are able to "hack " it and get amazon store or Google play store on it and get the same games you can for your phones.  If you follow Nabi on FB they actually post videos and stuff telling you how to do this.

It also has a "Mommy mode" which you turn off the kid stuff and it is a fully functional tablet you can use too.

www.nabitablet.com

They are 199.99 anywhere walmart, game stop, best buy, target online ( and you can use your red card if you have one)  I got Adam's for $129 shipped free from Best Buy on Thanksgiving.  Walmart had it that night for $129 as well. then Best buy at midnight was $169.  Wootkids had it today for $129 also but it sold out quick.

I did notice that walmart also has a bundle now where you can get the tablet and the letterset for it for 199 so you basically get the letters free ($30).

I am sure it may be onsale yet before the holidays.

valkaz

Jefsnickerdodle:

We decided to go this route too. Dh saw the leap pad last year and we didnt think he was ready and already had a handheld game thing. We were going to go Leap pad this year. Well in the last year he has started playin gall the angry birds and cut the rope and things on DH's phone so we figured going with a Tablet were he can do the same things is a better options. 1. he will still want to use DH's phone to play those games if he had a leap pad 2. you still have to buy games at a much higher price and 3. he already has a "game" thing similar.

Someone else said kindle, which you can get cheaper then the Nabi 2 but they are not made for kids- you can get a kid case but then you are looking at the same price anyway and you arent getting a Kid ready item.

they Nabi, as mentioned is set up for kids.  ALSO since it is Android based you are able to "hack " it and get amazon store or Google play store on it and get the same games you can for your phones.  If you follow Nabi on FB they actually post videos and stuff telling you how to do this.

It also has a "Mommy mode" which you turn off the kid stuff and it is a fully functional tablet you can use too.

www.nabitablet.com

They are 199.99 anywhere walmart, game stop, best buy, target online ( and you can use your red card if you have one)  I got Adam's for $129 shipped free from Best Buy on Thanksgiving.  Walmart had it that night for $129 as well. then Best buy at midnight was $169.  Wootkids had it today for $129 also but it sold out quick.

I did notice that walmart also has a bundle now where you can get the tablet and the letterset for it for 199 so you basically get the letters free ($30).

I am sure it may be onsale yet before the holidays.

 

The one on Woot yesterday was the first generation Nabi, which I've heard awful things about.

Jefsnickerdodle

valkaz:

Jefsnickerdodle:

We decided to go this route too. Dh saw the leap pad last year and we didnt think he was ready and already had a handheld game thing. We were going to go Leap pad this year. Well in the last year he has started playin gall the angry birds and cut the rope and things on DH's phone so we figured going with a Tablet were he can do the same things is a better options. 1. he will still want to use DH's phone to play those games if he had a leap pad 2. you still have to buy games at a much higher price and 3. he already has a "game" thing similar.

Someone else said kindle, which you can get cheaper then the Nabi 2 but they are not made for kids- you can get a kid case but then you are looking at the same price anyway and you arent getting a Kid ready item.

they Nabi, as mentioned is set up for kids.  ALSO since it is Android based you are able to "hack " it and get amazon store or Google play store on it and get the same games you can for your phones.  If you follow Nabi on FB they actually post videos and stuff telling you how to do this.

It also has a "Mommy mode" which you turn off the kid stuff and it is a fully functional tablet you can use too.

www.nabitablet.com

They are 199.99 anywhere walmart, game stop, best buy, target online ( and you can use your red card if you have one)  I got Adam's for $129 shipped free from Best Buy on Thanksgiving.  Walmart had it that night for $129 as well. then Best buy at midnight was $169.  Wootkids had it today for $129 also but it sold out quick.

I did notice that walmart also has a bundle now where you can get the tablet and the letterset for it for 199 so you basically get the letters free ($30).

I am sure it may be onsale yet before the holidays.

 

The one on Woot yesterday was the first generation Nabi, which I've heard awful things about.

 

Really??? I wonder if that is so if anyone realized that since it sold out so fast??? Because all the ones in the stores are the 2 and I have read all kinds of great reviews of them.

valkaz

Jefsnickerdodle:

 

Really??? I wonder if that is so if anyone realized that since it sold out so fast??? Because all the ones in the stores are the 2 and I have read all kinds of great reviews of them.

 

From what I read online, a lot of people didn't know because there was confusion in the post - they posted that it was the new one but had the specs of the old one (or vice versa.) I think I then read that Woot tried to clarify but they were wrong in what they told people - so they offered to refund the money to anyone who didn't want the item they purchased.