Educational Video Games

My son (who is six and a half) received a V smile TV game system several years ago. Within the last year and a half was when he started to show interest/ability to handle it. We love it because he can play educational games with characters that he loves. And hopefully when he outgrows it and moves on to "other" gaming systems, my daughters who are 4 and 20 months can enjoy it as well.

I'm not familiar with the Leap Frog system, only their videos and developmental toys, which are incredible.

M.,
I have both games- v-smile and Leapster. We got them as gifts and I believe that either one is good. We took the leapster on a road trip and kept them entertained. They would shout out some things they learned - funny. My kids are 6, 4 and 20 months. My youngest liked to play with the pen and turn it on and off. He thought he was being like the big boys. I need to get more learning cartridges now because they finished the animal one for 5-7 year olds in one car trip.
V-smile has some good games. They go through phases of wanting to play with it. The control stick is pretty easy to learn for young kids. When my child was 3, he could manipulate it well.
Hope this helps. You really can't lose.
C.

Hello M.,

My youngest daughter is 4 1/2 years old and loves playing with her Leapster. I don't know much about the V-smile, but one reason we choose the leapfrog is they have a system that works with the TV and on it's own, as a handheld. Which works great in the car and in doctor appts. With the Leapster the games are compatible.

Good Luck,
J. W.

My kids love those same channels, including Disney. I wanted to get them the V-Smile and my mother in law bought them one for Christmas, now mind the fact that my kids are NOT computer savvy b/c I have never tought them anything about the computer, so trying to teach them how to play that video game has been a bit difficult (my son does not focus very well at all) however I do recomend the game system, it is a good learning too. My kids even have the little dance mat that you can buy for it, and enjoy that too. Hope this helps. :o) Good Luck.

L.

Hi! My son now 5 has the V-tech and a handheld Leapster. I recommed both. The V-tech is great for rainy days and the Leapster is wonderful on those long road trips. Both have great age appropriate games. If your child doesn't know their number or letters yet they can get a little frustrated.

hi there,
My name is J. and I have two little boys. I purchased a leapfrog leapster max. Its a hand held game system that you can also hook up to the tv. (They have one that is cheaper but it wont hook up to the tv...) We bought it cause it had tons of age appropriate games. Something that they can grow into. Both of my boys LOVE to play with it. (Even my two yr old- he likes to color on it- that coloring program comes with the system) Its about $80 and the games are around $25 each. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a handled game that promotes learning!!! Good Luck

Hi M.,

my daughter has the leapster max. she loves it.
i started her with the my first leapster and she liked it so much that we got her the leapster max; which you can take with you on the go or it can hook up to the tv when you are home or at grandmas. it has educational games with familar faces. (i.e.- princess, thomas the train, sonic, nemo, dora, ect.)
i would rather her play that than a game boy because she gets to learn something.
she is 5 now and she really likes her leapster.....alot.

hope this helps,
S.

hi-
we got our son vtech smile for christmas and it's awesome! he just turned 4 and still loves playing it. he is now learning addition w/the use of the games! it's a great educational toy.
take care,
T.

i haven't had a chance to get the v smile yet but my neighbors son has this, he is four, and he loves it. our kids will sit there for hours playing with it and they learn so much. over anything this is the one i woudl recomend. ecspecially for this specific age group.

We got the baby v-smile and I absolutely hate it. the programs are very cheap looking and we've also had some tech difficulties with it. My son will play with the controller but had no interest in what was on the TV--and trust me this kid likes TV.
I've heard very good things about the leapfrog one, though and will look into getting that one when my son gets older.,

My daughter is almost 3 and has a v-smile and she loves it! She has the leapfrog book thing where you insert the books and the cartidges, good for the car. :)

I bought the VSmile for my daughter a few years ago and I don't think it's worth it. The graphics are cheap looking. I would go for a Leapster!

My son is 4 1/2. We got him the V-smile for Christmas last year. He loves it. He has the Thomas the Train game and Scooby-Doo. And a couple others that I don't remember their names. It has been very helpful. He is very resistant to learning and these games are getting him to learn his alphabet and how to count. He has had no problems knowing how to start the games, change the games, and navigate the menus.

I have the V Smile. My daughter is 4 and she loves it. She can pretty much do it on her own, sometimes she will get stuck on one of the menus but not very often. I haven't heard anything about the leap Frog one. Good luck!