We're going to....

Sooooo...we are going to Italy again. We leave April 20 and return May 4. This is going to be interesting with three kids three and under! ACK! We are going to visit DH's grandparents, as well as aunts, uncles, and cousins. We were there back in 2008, when the boys were nine months old. Now we are going back so everyone can meet Annabella and obviously see the boys. We are quite the 'American' attraction! LOL!

So-what would you recommend for a hand held system for the boys? With Anthony's surgery, he's used my ipod touch a lot the past two weeks. And he's become really good at it! And, it's something I never let them use, only if we are at doctor appointments and the like.

And to be honest, I am not eager to get one. I know they will be addicted to them like crazy. However, it's going to be a 17 hour trip there(hopefully a lot of sleep on the way there), and lots of sitting around in airports(we are stuck at the Rome airport for a good five hours before our connecting flight). We are going to need something.

I've semi looked into the Mobigo's, only because I *think* they are touch screen, which I think they would get now. Anyone have some input, I'd appreciate it!

 

My two just got Mobigo's for Christmas and they LOVE them. :good: It is touch screen and the picture is very nice on it. :good:

They also have leapsters and love those too. :good: Though now that they have the Mobigos' they rarely play with the leapsters but I think it's more of new toy kind of thing.

Good luck with your decision. We took them with us to Serbia this past summer and it saved our lives!!! It was a 24 hour trip from our house to our house there :faint: coloring books just wouldn't have cut it.

 

Yeah, our first trip to Italy with the boys was a 24 hour trip from the time we left our house til we got to his grandmother's house in Sourthern Italy. Not a happy camper was I! I hear ya! And good to know on the Mobigo's! DH wants something that is touch screen. He mentioned getting another ipod touch. I told him he was out of his mind, as they are 4-5 times MORE than the mobigo's. LOL!

 

Nah, if they are that expensive I'd go with this. They are more child durable :laughing:

 

We have the Leapsters. No complaints here!

 

Leapster Explorers are touch screen (as are the Leapsters) and it will grow with them into an E-Reader etc...plus you can download apps and also have cartridge games...Tag Reader system is also a thought...

 

I vote for the Leapsters ! We've had ours forever and they still play with them even at 6 years old. They were a great buy.

 

I don't know if it's true but I've heard they're phasing out the leapster 2 in favor of the leapster explorer... so I'd get either MobiGo or Leapster Explorer.

 

I typed out a long response then lost everything. Basically we love Leapfrog products. I would go with Explorers. My older boys used L-maxs and Dijis. One L-max isn't working anymore, so we will replace it with an Explorer. The graphics seems to much better than the Leapster L-maxs that we have.
We bought Tags for the boys for Christmas, they like them, but do get bored after some time. I don't think it would keep their attention as well as a full handheld like an Explorer.

 

I have no suggestions as we don't have any handheld toys yet, but I am so excited for you to go to Italy!!! I have been a couple times and fell in love with the country. Can't wait to see pics and hear about your trip.

 

We have the explorers and the girls really love them and I think they will hold their attention for years. I would look at the games for the mobi and for the explorer and see which ones have games that are age appropriate. My girls just turned 4 and some of the explorer games are a little to hard even though they say ages 4. - 7 I have not been able to find games for younger than 4-7. But maybe I have not looked hard enough?

What a cool trip!!!! I hope you have a GREAT time!!!!

 

My girls don't have any handheld devices, but they love my DH's iPad. They are really good at the games on them! One good thing about the touch or iPad is you can also load movies or TV shows on it. But for any of these, think about how long the battery will last if they have them on for awhile on the plane.

GL with your trip!!!

 

Thanks for the topic!!
we are flying to the States this summer.

The last time...with only Berber at 15 months(pregnant with the boys) we had balloons for at the airport. Easy to play with and throw away before flight.
have a good flight! and good luck

 

I always take lots of toys on the plane and in the end they hardly play with anything. We have a direct for 12 1/2 hours. They sleep for a number of hours or watch TV / DVD on the entertainment system (ours also has games). This years I am traveling back to Europe with the 3 of them by myself and I think I'll have them pack one small bag for the 3 of them (I have a Trunki), and that's it. I usually don't touch anything they bring until the trip back 5-6 week later and then it's the same thing. I wouldn't worry too much. Have an iPod and something else, switch a little and I think they should be fine. Would definitely not spend too much on it. On the other hand, mine have traveled soooooo much since birth they don't know much better?!