Best Video Game System for 5 Year Old Girl?

Hi C..
When my youngest was 4, we got her a Leapfrom L-Max. She was having a fit because her sister had a Nintendo DS (she earned and received from my childless sister for Christmas). The games on the L-max have been learning games but she didn't realize they were educational. They were similar to her sister's DS games and she thought she was all that when she got it. She will probably be getting a DS this year because i think she is ready and she has wore out the L-max. And out of guilt because she is a sick little girl. (shame on me I know).
FYI, I got her L-max on ebay for $40.00 brand new(at the time, they sold for $119.00)
I hope this helps.

I really like the WII...It not only teaches the kids about hand, eye movement, etc, but it gets them off the couch! The WII also has music. I think it is very educational. and well rounding!

Try the Leapster L-Max. It is a handheld game but you can hook it up to the tv too. It has tons of educational games. Letters on the Leap teaches writing skills. If the kids don't do a good job, they have to try again!

My daughter is 5 also. We have a V-smile, and she loves it. The games are challenging, yet kid friendly. There are different levels, challenges, and it's all education related. Vtech also just recently came out w/ Vmotion, which we'll be buying for xmas. It's like the Nintendo Wii, but made for children. It's all motion controlled, but kid friendly & educational games. Like your daughter, mine also is an internet user. She can use & play the different games & systems w/o a problem. Hope this helps you out some =)

C., I have a five year old niece that lives with me part-time. I know the Wii isn't educational, however keep in mind that children this age need a balance of education and physical activity. The Wii is it for us. We're a homeschool family and we even use it for P.E. during school!! I am not sure about whether they have educational games for the Wii, as we are action junkies, but it is definately worth looking into. I wouldn't be quick to take the possibilty off the table completely. I don't know how active your child is, but my niece is very active and the Wii is great, especially on days when we can't do P.E. outside. We have tried educational games and all they tend to do is sit collecting dust after a month because the kids get bored with them. We have had Leap Pad, V-Tech, and various others that very quickly get given away because, quite frankly, they stink. Kids are smarter than the game designers give them credit for and once the new is off...that's it. This has been my experience. The Wii has been a lifesaver simply because my kids are more active, and it's something they actually enjoy. Hope this helps!

I highly recommend the Leapster handheld video game. My husband and I bought it for our grandson last year when he was 4. He has gotten so much enjoyment from it that we've decided it is the best gift we have ever given him. The games are awesome and very educational. The package for each game tells you the educational skills that the particular game works on. The graphics are wonderful.

a friend of mine has the v tech for their little girl and they love it! we have the wii and while there are kid friendly games.....however not very educational and some kid games are very hard that hubby and i couldnt even figure out. good luck!

Hi My son is 5 going on 6 and he loves his leapfrog. But we also got a Wii last year and he loves it. Their are lost of games for the wii that will teach her. We love Big Brain academy,Cars and many others. Big Brain academy is actually a family learning game. I even like it and Im not a big fan of video games. If your not interested in a gaming system the I suggest the Leapfrog she can take it with her and hook it up to the T.V.. Good luck in your search.

We have the Wii, and my 5 year old daughter and 3 year old son LOVE IT. My husband and I bought it for ourselves, but our kids play it WAY MORE than we do. It is fun, and gets them up and moving, but so far we've only played the Wii sports that comes with the system, so I can't speak for any educational aspect....
HOWEVER, if you are interested in the Leapster, which is also a GREAT option (definitely educational), I wanted to let you know it is ON SALE at Target THIS WEEK ONLY for $40!!!!!!! Huge savings, so I just thought I'd throw that in for you.
Good luck.

Absolutely no doubt in my mind...buy her a Leapster L-Max. The games are great, it's portable and can be used with the TV, and will take her through these years. My kids are 5 and 8, and we got them their Leapsters at age 4, and it's been perfect.

We also have a Wii, and that is more for the family to use. My son has a few games that he loves (Star Wars, etc) but they are a little more of a true video game where you have to reach different levels, unlock codes, etc, whereas a Leapster is more fun and educational.

I would suggest the leapfrog system. It can be hooked into the TV or handheld, my son loved his and took it everywhere. The leapster is educational and fun.

I would suggest a V Smile for now, in about a year or so she WILL get bored with it. My boys got it for their 6th B-Days, and they were bored w it within a few months, also the games a geared more towards Pre-K and kindergarten. There's a few that go up to 8 I believe, but frankly they were rather low lvl if you ask me. I would suggest a wii sooner rather than later (Wii don't have any educational games as far as I know, but the Wii is far better than any other gaming system IMO). Also there are a LOT of computer games that are educational, and you will be more likely to find something along those lines for the computer than anything else. And when you buy games just pick out something that's a grade or a year higher so she won't be so bored with it. Good luck!

I vote with your husband for the wii. My just turned 6 granddaughter has a wii and absoulely loves it. There all all kinds of games for it. She can get all the educational games from the computer to play also. This game will also give here exercise where the others other exercise her fingers.

Hi C.!
When my daughter thought she'd be interested in video games I got concerned too. She wanted to be like her older brother (9yrs older). I didnt want her to play or see the games he was playing. I got her a Leap Frog. I even had fun with it! It was educational and it had fun games with Dora Explora and Blues Clues. It's also portable. Great if you have to take your child with you anywhere, it'll keep her busy. As she got a little older, I got her one of those Atari systems (remember those?) It had 10 games already installed into the console. We played pacman, cennipede, and tetris...
I agree with you, a Wii seems too much for a 5 yr old. The V-tech system is neat, and cheap, but I found it in the bottom of her toybox after a week of playing it. It didn have much variety to keep a young child busy.
I am a mother of 4. (10yr girl, 19yr "man", 12 step daughter, and 18yr "woman") I hope my ideas helped you.

C.--I hope it is not too late to add my opinion.... Leap Frog has a new game called Didj it is more like a Nintendo DS. The games are well known characters (spongebob, Indiana Jones, Sonic, etc....) and you can tailor them to what your child is learning. The price is $89.00 and the games run around $30.00. Toys-R-Us has a bundle deal right now wich is the actual system and an Indiana Jones game for $99.00--the game that comes with it is for 7yrs and up though. I decided to go with this system because:

1) I agree with you that I don't want to spend that much on a gaming system until I know that they will take care of it

2) I want to use the games my kids play as an extention of what they are learning in math, spelling and language arts.

3) I like the fact that this system can be modified and backgrounds/charactors changed on-line so they are not getting bored with a game after playing it a few times.

I don't remember if you can hook it up to the t.v. but it can be connected to the computer.

4)I have had a v-smile and a v-tech game (bought on clearance) and I will not buy anything else by v-tech because of the quality.

Just wanted to share this info with you.
Peace

Hi C.,
I understand where you are comming from I know my kids all of them like playing games on the computer but sometimes I have to make sure that are ok for them to play with since some most are for older kids with guns and such. If I let them play game I monitor it anyways, for games that you can just plug into the TV can be found at WalMart I know my sons have Spiderman,SpongeBob, and a few others that they play and as for something that is teaching them Math,Reading,Spelling, and even learning words. I have found at Rose's here in TN and it is for ages 5- 10 I think and it runs on batteries and teaches all kinds of things my boys have been playing it everyday since we got it and when my 6 yr old plays it he is also helping his 5 yr old brother as he watches. The name of it is Teach and Talk Laptop Junior so the computer is talking to them like you might push a letter F and it will tell you the letter and then the sound that it makes.

Good Luck,
T.

Hi C.!

Sounds like you've gotten some good opinions here. I am a gamer-mom myself. I got my daughter her first Playstation when she was about your daughter's age (she's 15 now) and it was a great way to spend time with her. Still is. I found that the video games, although not strictly educational, developed other things in her such as patience, persistence, logic, problem solving, coordination, etc. Most of them still have instructions that have to be read in order to complete mini games within the game or to fill in the story as you advance, and racing games have time counters. Education is where you look for it and use it. The key is the time you can spend playing them with her and guidance you can provide at the same time. So go ahead...get her the Wii and have a blast! Hope this gave you another perspective! Have a blessed day!

My daughter is 5 as well and for her 5th birthday we bought her the Leapster L-Max. This system can be played both on the T.V. and on the go. It has all kinds of games from Letters on the Loose to Disney Princesses and Pet Pals. My daughter has played it non stop since she got it and loves it. We NEVER leave home without it.
We recently got a Wii as a family unit and we all spend time playing it about 2 or 3 times a week. So far we have only done the sports games (she has gotten very good at the bowling and tennis) but I did see some educational type games when I was browsing for Christmas. Hope this helps.

Hello,

We bought our 7 yr. old son a Wii for Christmas last year with an extra remote so our youngest(he was only 2&1/2 at the time)could play too. Naturally our 7 year old loved it but our other son wasn't interested. Well, he is now 1 year older and he started about 3-4 months ago playing his older brother's Nintendo DS and couldn't get enough. Then about 1 month ago he picked up that extra Wii remote one day. He hasn't put it down since. Literally, if I let him, he would play it non-stop from morning to bedtime. I even have a hard time getting him to stop to eat. I have to confess, I let him play it more than I probably should because he's a little overweight and this video game system is GREAT exercise! Even for us adults & it's fun too! It also keeps him really occupied when I have a lot to do and his brother is at school. We have about 15 games and they are not all sports games. I'm not sure about educational games, but I do know there are literally thousands of choices from sports to singing (High School Musical, Am. Idol, etc..) to major movie based games (Shrek 3rd, Surf's up, The Bee Movie, etc..). One of my children's favorites is "Carnival Games". It's just like being at the fair. And believe it or not, the Wii Sports that comes with the system is lots of fun and our absolute favorite! The same kind of games that are out for other systems, (XBox 360, Playstations), are also available for Wii. We also have the v-smile and though my children enjoy playing with it and it is all educational, it probably would be "too young" for your daughter if she's mastered internet games. It is a pretty simple concept. I would definately recommend buying the Wii over any other system because I don't like the idea of kids sitting in front of video games all day, but I love this system because of the beneficial exercise that comes along with playing. The kids are happy and so is mom! Just a suggestion though if you do go with the Wii - If you live somewhere that it's possible, I would recommend renting the games before you buy them to make sure you like them. We don't have that luxury and I can't tell you how many games (at $30-$50 each) we have bought that don't get played. Another system you might consider is the Smart Cycle. We have that one too and it is educational and they get exercise. The only downfall I have found is that the games are only available in stores during the christmas season. You could order them online though. Good luck and I hope this helps with your decision!

the wii system is the best, it get them moving and there are games for all ages my kids love it and my three year old plays with my 9 and 11 year old. they have awesome time

Hello, C.
My daughter got the V-smile when she was 2. She is 6 now and STILL loves it. We have only had one problem.. sometimes the adapter gets a hair loose and you have to jiggle it or unplug and plug back in for the system to come on. Most of the games are really good.
She also has a Leap Frog. She is just now getting into that, though. She plays games on our PS2 (Smurfs, Q-bert, etc. not educational, but not violent). She loves computer games as well.
Anyway, with the V-smile, some of the games were difficult for the younger ages and she is just now getting the hang of them. Other mothers have told me the same thing. I had not heard so many people having problems with theirs. I am sorry they got defective systems.
Hope this helps.
D.

C. take a look at the Leap Frog Leapster, there is also a new one called the Leapster 2 that is new out for this holiday season.
They have ALL educational games from some of her fave characters.

I have chosen the Leapster over the Nintendo DS as they have "some" educational games that hard to find... I dont' have to worry about finding some as the Leapster has ALL educational games.

There are several games for the computer that are educational and it is good that she is learning how to use the computer.

Check out Timberdoodle.com or Youngexplorers.com

We LOVE our Wii.
There are games for everyone & the movement part of it can get down-right hysterical.

I have 5yo boy. We enjoy Shreck, Mario cart, Rabids to name a few.

P.

I have to say anything from the Leap Frog company is wonderful. We have the LeapPad which is a book that reads to your child as well as some games and learning activites. The books are labled by grade, which I found more helpful than age lables. We also have Leapsters. Love, love, love them. The games start for preschool and continue thru 4th grade I think. My older daughter(11) still uses one of her sisters' every once in a while for the drawing games. Hope this helps.

C.,
We have the L-max system from Leap Frog - they have a huge variety of games, and the system can be used hand held or plugged into the TV with cables. Our boys (8 & 6) still love it - we have had it for 2 years I believe.

T. Koyn

Visit leapfrog.com and check out their products. My daughter has the clickstart computer and loves it but I think the age range is 3-6. However, they have a nice variety of systems for a wide range of ages, I'm sure you'll find something there. Good luck!!

OK I am all about letting people find out on their own how things are but I can not keep my mouth shut about the Vtech VSmile. The systems are faulty. After very little use over a year span ours just stopped powering up. I did call the company and they replaced it. The same thing happened to my cousin with her kids. I have heard a lot about this. The thing I did find out is the reason why this happens is you can not have batteries in it and plug in the 12v power pack to use. It must short the system out or something. And the very little wear was because they just did not find it fun. That being said I want to tell you about a great hand held game that I bought for my 5 yr old daughter. It is made by leap frog and it is called the leapster. They do have the leapster Lmax now that can be hooked up to the tv or handheld. Awesome game. Teaches numbers, letters, colors and really captivates their attention. My daughter is learning how to spell big words from this thing. They have games ranged for different ages. It is like a childs version of the Nintendo DS but with educational games and easy to use. My 3 year old also loves it.

Hi my name is J. and i have 5 children of my own...they range in ages from 17 to 4...Leap Frog has all kinds of educational games and many types of systems...I am positive you can find something both of you and your daughter can agree on.

I say get her the Wii. My kids have the leapsters which I bought them when they were 4, 5 and 6. They played for about a year and now they just sit. The Wii is great, my kids love the spelling games and brain games, and all the sports games that came with the system. There are a lot of things you have to really think about to make it happen, it is not just a push of a button kind of game. And yes they get up and get moving which is great they get lots of exercise. Sounds like she likes the computer games so she will still get learning there also. My kids love to play Webkinz and the Wii. My nieces are 4 & 6 and they have a leapster that they play in the car, but they love the Wii. Good luck in your decision.