Hey guys, I've been struggling with the whole electronics thing for my kids. I have visions of unmotivated couch potatoes, which rationally I know I have the final say. It just seems to be such a big part of the world today. Their preschool has ipads, ipods, laptops etc...so maybe it will be ok. They have used my phone, and naturally seem to know what to do with the preschool teachers iPad. During Ryan's IEP, they mentioned he was technically savy. Personally, I'm a tech.weenie! I love technology and gadgets!! So are there electronics out there for newly 3 y/o's? How do you handle it? If you support electronics for preschoolers what do you recommend? Thanks!! Rebecca
Not much in our house so far! The only thing they have is that Leapfrog text and write toy that they play with once a week... I guess we don't have those electronics either (I still use a prepaid cellphone), so I don't see the point that much... I'm planning on getting them a leappad (or innotab, we'll see) next year for our trip to France though, but for the house, they spend so much time watching tv already, I don't need more of that stuff... they'll be over 4 by then though. I'm not sure there's really anything for 3yo?
I got them the Vtech Mobigo's shortly after their 3rd birthday and they LOVE them. They will be 4 in January and have really gotten the hang of it. The age range is 3-5 years. I do not keep them out all the time. I usually bring them with to places I know they're going to get bored (Dr's appointments, long car rides ect). I do plan on getting them the Leap Frog LeapPad for Christmas but the age range for that is 4-9.
Under supervision, my two got 5-10 minutes a day playing preschooler games on DH's I- Phone. Now they will be 4 at Christmas, we are getting them Leap Pads for Christmas.
We did MobiGo for Christmas last year (right at 3 yo) and they have been a big hit. We will probably add to the games for birthday and Christmas this year for those. We also had two iTouch's in the house and they loved them. I found all kinds of free or very cheap games for them on iTunes. I lost one of them though and the other has since been put up. It was too hard to share for the little bit of time they got to play them. I'm looking at getting a new iPhone for me for Christmas and if I do they will then I could hand mine down and each have an iTouch to use again. I'm debating though, I keep seeing cheap tablets with the Android OS for 60ish and the LeapPad thing looks like it would be durable. The tablets though are cheaper than the LeapPad and the games would be cheaper if not free as well. Plus they would be something DH and I would use too, since the kids really don't have access to them that much. I guess I'm not much help. Trying to decide as well
We took the sim cards out of our old iPhones and the girls have used them as I touches for around 2 years. I think the iPhone has better games (easy for a 3 year old) than the leappad has. My girls would play the leapster 2 at 3 but it was vey frustrating for them.
I'm not a fan of electronics for preschoolers. I figure why start them early on something I know I'm going to want to drag out of their hands when they get a little older. This is the one time of life when they are actually happy without being plugged in to something all the time (other than the TV we watch for maybe an hour a day), and I want them to learn what that feels like to entertain themselves without technological stimulation. DH is a complete techie and is much more willing to let the girls play on his iPhone than I am. But time with the iPhone is still a special treat, reserved for times like when one child is ready for bed much before the other, or when someone has to wait at a doctor's office or sit still on a plane. Mine are 6, and I can't imagine giving them free access to any kind of electronic gadget until they're considerably older.
When I grew up, I used to play with mudd, tree leaves, pine cones, etc. TV didn't start until 5 PM and only had cartoons for 1 hour, then the news started (I'm from another country). Now things are different...and I guess we just have to go with the changes... always with parents suppervision and control of course. I don't have any electronics for them yet, thinking of getting some for xmass (except the laptop which has helped them a lot with sounds, words, etc) I like learning toys, the say way I like Super Y and Leapfrog shows. Plus, I see how it really dependes on the child. DS watches more tv than dd, dd draws, cuts, and colors, while ds is more likely to be gadget inclined. I can totally see ds when he is older hooked to video games, but that will make it easier for me to take things away when he does not behave. I have a nice, (teenager now), how loves to read, was not really interetes in tv, computer, etc.. so when she had to go in time out, she used to tell her mother "are you going to punish me by sending me to my room and not allowing me to read?" how do you deal with that? ;-)! l
I'm not a fan of electronics for preschoolers. Every study ever done shows that kids learn far more by moving their bodies at this age than they can by watching a screen. I know that all the gadgets designed for preschoolers promise to teach them to read or help them learn math, but this is stuff kids learn in regular life anyway. They don't need an extra electronic boost. We're a pretty techie family with multiple laptops, two iPads, two iPhones, etc. So my kids do have exposure to electronics. They watch about an hour of recorded TV a week, watch movies on long airplane rides, and get to play with my iPad or iPhone on rare occasions like super long doctors office visits. But that's it. I just don't see the value in Leap Pads, Mobigos and whatever else is out there. They're great at keeping kids contained and quiet, but don't offer any more educational opportunities than my kids would normally get just by playing and interacting with other kids and adults.
We got the kids Leapster Explorers for their 3rd birthday. They use them on car trips (when we are traveling not on a daily basis), but other than that, don't often use them at home that much. Sometimes they will ask to play before dinner and that is okay, we just limit the time frame on them. I also don't feel that bad when they use them because they are all educational games.
Just an FYI: The Leapster Explorers will be part of the Black Friday sale at Toys R Us for 50% off. I think with the LeapPad coming out, they are trying to get rid of their overstock.
Sorry about that. But if you're looking for something inexpensive, it might be the way to go. If they love them, great, if not you did not invest a lot of money for something that gets little use. If they go crazy over them, maybe next year when they are a bit older you can get them the LeapPad. But who knows, by next year the LeapPad may be the thing of the past like the Readers have become.
We use their leapsters for quiet time. It's a sure way for my two to stay in their room and have quiet time over the weekends. They don't normally get them during the week (if they are sick, then yeah, we'll let them have them) but on weekends and long trips they do get them.
ditto this. Mine are 6 as well and have very limited access to adult owned tech stuff (computer mostly) with the exception of a Leapster. The Leapster they use for long car trips or Dr appointments, they DO NOT have open access to it. The Leapster was nice, but they did not/do not use it enough to justify the price for the unit and games. We also had a TAG reader at age 3--- that was a big hit and wonderful for long car rides. Better investment. But to have electronic gadgets just available whenever or for exactly X amount of time- not yet at our house. They do have computer use and have since about age 3, but it is the adult computer and very seldom ( less than 30 min every few days or so) and is always moderated by an adult nearby. As techie as DH is (he works in tech field) we do very little screen time (tv, computer, etc) even in that little bit of time the girls have picked up how to do a lot! They now, in 1st grade, have 20 min once a week of computer time at school. We figure they will learn quickly in school and/or in time. No need for too much of it now!
