Hand Held Electronics

Do you have an old Walkman? I just dug one out of the drawer and my daughter has been listening to her educational state & capital CDs and letter sound CDs. She sings along and stops to educate me what she has just learned.

Hi B.. My boys are 7 1/2 and 6 and as of Christmas both have DSi's which they love. Your 7 y/o might like the DS or DSi. For your 5 years olds, perhaps they could share a gaming system? I have a Leapster that is 3 years old. It's not as fancy as the newer models but it's in good condition. You can have it if you would like or borrow, what ever you feel comfortable. Then you could buy a couple of the games for it (you could have our games too if they can be located in the toybox. I was going to donate to it Frisco resale. So IM if you are interested, we are in Frisco. D.

DS. Will get tons of playtime for the ages of your children.

B.- I think your kids are old enough that they can sit for a long flight and not cause a ruckus like a little baby. Sorry, I'm just coming from the standpoint of someone who took her 3 yr old to from DFW to Taiwan. We did have an iPod for him. We loaded movies and games on it. But, it might be hard for 3 kids to share an ipod to watch a movie. They are old enough that they could also do activity books on the flight so they could take turns with the game system.
I don't own a DVD player, but can't you also plug it in? I think there should be one plug on each row for laptop users.

My 4 1/2 year old daughter got a Leapster Explorer for Christmas and she loves it.

As far as the personal DVD players go, just check into how long the battery will last on a charge. I flew with my daughter last October and we took our portable DVD player on the plane. It died on us shortly before one of her Disney movies was over but luckily we were getting ready to land so it was no big deal. The charge was supposed to last 2 hours but it really only lasted about 1 1/2 hours.

I love our portable DVD player. We have taken it on many trips and it has saved our sanity. The only issue was who got to choose the movie. So be prepared for that. Also, go to radio shack or somewhere and get this "Y" connector gizmo for the headphones. It allows you to plug in 2 headphones into the one slot so they don't have to turn up the volume. I don't know what it's called but just describe it to the salesperson. It's a must have. Actually that gizmo would be good for any handheld game that needs headphones. It's only a few dollars and well worth it.

I would also suggest the DS over the Leapster. I think it will last you much longer. My 7 year old plays it as does my 16 year old. You just choose age appropriate games. And you can buy used games for cheaper prices at places like Game Stop.

B., I just bought my three-year-old (Santa rather) a Leapster 2. He absolutely loves the thing. We use it for car rides and for short periods through out the week when I need a few minutes for dinner or what have you. Leapster has learning games by age group such as numbers, shapes, letters, comparing differences ect. It has helped him further his knowledge of the alphabet and counting. I am not sure about the Explorer. When I was looking at the two, the display was always broken. It is a fairly new system so I am not sure if they have worked out any "bugs" that it might have. The DS has educational games but there are also many fighting type games that I felt that I didnt want my kiddo to partake in. Thats why I chose the Leapster. Usually store websites will have parental reviews of each of the systems as well. I would take a look at what those parents had to say, too. THere are alot of folks that talk about the Leapsters pen had stopped working. I havent had that issue.

My 5 year old son got a DS for Christmas, but has been wanting one for a year after playing his cousin's. He absolutely loves it and would play it 24/7 if we would let him. He has Mario and Sonic games and a lot of the legos games (Batman, Star Wars, etc...). I think Leigh hit the nail on the head when she said it would be a good investment because they aren't going to want to play with the Leapsters a lot longer. I also agree that it would be easier for them each to have one if possible, unless they are really good at sharing. Good luck, and enjoy your trip!

We have a travel sized DVD player and it's a lifesaver for traveling. My oldest is 5, he'll be 6 next month, and our youngest son just turned 3. My oldest got a DS for his 5th birthday and he LOVES it. We got the DSi which has the camera, and he plays with that function as much if not more than the actual games. Granted, the games he has are not necessarily educational, but we only get the rated E games so they are safe and he has a lot of fun. My 3 yr old got a leapster explorer for Christmas. The games for the Leapster are definitely educational, and my older son actually plays with it as well and really enjoys it. My only concern with getting the Leapster would be that your kids are older and I don't know if they would think it was "babyish" and not want to play with it as much. But I like them both alot, just depends on what you're looking for.

I flew to LA with my two this past summer and my son (7) had his DS and I gave my daughter my ipod with some Dora episodes downloaded onto it. Those things worked like a charm. I think you are going to have to figure out how to do something where all of them have something to play with. I think you are asking for trouble if you have one cool play thing and three kids. So, if you have an ipod or iphone or anything that accepts aps, download a few things onto it for at least one of the kids. Then, also get the handheld game. Personally, now that I know the kids are entertained by the ipod, I'm not interested in toting around a dvd player - it's too large and cumbersome.

Also, if you do get a DS, get one sooner, rather than later, so they have time to learn to play it before the plane trip. My son LOVES Mario Kart and Star Wars Legos.

Good luck!
L.

Hi B.,
The only thing I would suggest is, if your budget will allow it, you buy 3 hand held games - one for each child. You really don't want to be 33,000 feet up in the air and battling over who gets to play on the toy now.

My son was gifted with his first DS when he as about 6 - at 14 now Nintendo has become an integral part of our lives. LOL But, I wouldn't trade it for the world - it has been invaluable on long car trips, flights and Hurricane evacuations. Since I purchase most of his games as Christmas or B-day gifts I can still control what rating games he plays. Heck, I bought my own DS two years ago. The DS does have educational games and games that spur the imagination. You just have to do your homework before you buy. Check out GameStop - they sell refurbished machines and used games and everything comes with a limited warranty.

Like all things - moderation is key. If they know beforehand that this is a travel toy, for airplanes only while on the trip, you should not have any problems with them turning them off once you land.

Have a fun and safe trip!!!!!

With those ages go for the Nintendo DS and an idea would be to go to Blockbuster and let them rent some games. You get them for 10 days so I'm not sure how long you will be gone but it is a great alternative to kids picking a game that cost $40 because they like the character. ;) Plus, if the game is a winner than you know which ones to buy. Good luck and be safe!