5 comments about LeapFrog Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum.

1. My son bangs on things anyway, so I thought to my self, why not put these skills to use! The alphabet drum was the perfect instrument! Not only is he banging on something and making a lot of noise, he's learning too! I love that it has English and Spanish versions too.



2. I was planning on getting my child a drum because he loves to bang on things, and I got this one because I thought "Oh, multifunctional! It's a drum AND he can do letters and songs if he wants to." But in reality the "drum" sound is not very appealing whether the machine is off or on. My 18-month old does like the letters and songs, but the diction of the recorded voice is not clear enough to be teaching him anything. I often can't tell what the recorded voice is saying (a problem with MANY electronic toys, I find). I haven't donated this toy to some other unsuspecting mom yet, because my child will at least play with it on his own for 10 minutes, which is not true of all toys. So I think this toy is of reasonable use for giving a poor mom 10 minutes of peace, but I feel it is fairly useless for teaching the child anything. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten a basic "real" toy drum, since I think the fun value of that would last longer.



3. We got this for our baby's 1st birthday (now 20 mos old). He doesn't really like to bang on it like bongos, or make the alphabet cycle through. He mostly just likes to throw it on the floor and watch it roll away. Considering how much it's been thrown, it is really quite durable. I think, though, that this is a toy older toddlers (3 maybe?) would be more interested in than the younger ones. Our baby still hasn't really shown any interest in it yet.



4. I bought this for my infant. He, at nine months old, is finally starting to show an interest in it. He is experimenting with the cause and effect of banging on it, both ends of course, and is quickly learning which end produces the noises. It has three different settings, as well as a 'parent freindly' volume control. It's added feature is that it encourages motor development not only in hand-eye coordination but also in that the baby will chase the toy around the floor as it rolls away from them. The lights and sounds encourage attention and activity from an early age, and the alphabet can be 'banged' out as the child hits the drum. Other setting provide the child the chance to bang out pre-set musical tunes. All children love music and movement, and the settings on this drum provide changable, enjoyable entertainment for an approximate developmental age range of 9 months to 3 years old. An educational toy, hiding learning in fun and music.



5. My son received this toy for his first birthday. We thought it would be a fantastic learning device for cause and effect (banging = sounds). Instead, we discovered what another reviewer did, and that's how inaudible the actual drum sounds are. There is constant background music on each setting that completely drowns out the drum sounds. If I show him how to hit the drum with his hand, he'll do it for a few seconds. But soon, he walks away because he can't distinguish between the soft drum noise and the rest of the music that is playing and doesn't realize he's doing anything at all. It's a little frustrating, but maybe it'll be of more value to us when he's more familiar with the alphabet. Light show, maybe, but definitely not a "drum."

5 comments about Sassy LeapFrog Baby Curious Crab Rattle.

1. The Sassy/Leapfrog Crab Rattle isn't a bad little toy for the price. It is bright and interesting to the baby, and the little swatches of cloth labeled with the corresponding color names make nice teething surfaces. The beads in the clear claws produce a rattle, and they have an electrostatic charge deal that makes them "float" (seems a lot of Sassy and Infantino toys feature these beads). It is hard plastic however, so check it out regularly for cracks and chips that could be a choking hazard or create a sharp surface. My son is not terribly into this toy, but will occasionally pick it up and shake it around (he has had it for a month and is now 6 months old).



2. It's a really good rattle and fun to play with. Everyone loves this! They just can't get enough.



3. Don't like this rattle. There are so many great rattles out there that do so many more things. This is cheap and annoying. As soon as I got it out of the box, I knew my infant wouldn't "grab" for it. The red crab's body is hard and not desirable to chew on or even hold. I wouldn't recommend.



4. my 8 month grandbaby just loves this, since she is teething, the smooth cloth edges are a comfort. Sure beats having her slobbering on every tag on clothing stuffed animal, "do not remove tag under penalty of law," in her mouth.



5. My 6 month old loves her crab rattle. Every time I shake it in front of her she gets excited and starts kicking and grabbing at it.
   
   I gave it four stars because mine had a mark on it when I received it.

2 comments about LeapFrog Leapster® Educational Game: Disney Princess Worlds of Enchantment.

1. My 4-year-old loves this game. She prefers it over all the other Leapster games she has, which might have something to do w/ the Princesses! However, she (and I) like this game better than the other Leapster Princess game. Bottom line: if my daughter is happy, then so am I! Great buy.



2. Some of the games on the device did not work, or, I as an adult could not figure them out...not worth the effort. The leapster comes with it's own games that are enough entertainment for a 4-5 year old.

5 comments about LeapFrog Leapster® Educational Game: Kindergarten.

1. This game is cute and has some good ideas, but it's definitely too easy for my kindergartener (luckily, he has a younger brother who can help us get our money's worth out of it). Just be aware that it's really more of a preschool game.



2. My son has 4 Leapster games, and each new one he gets seems to be his favorite for awhile, but Kindergarten has kept his attention for the longest. He will bring me his Leapster and make me play the game, while he stands over me and watches me play. It's pretty funny. This game does a great job of introducing different letter sounds (beginning sounds and ending sounds) and I also the concept of earning tickets to "buy" monster parts.



3. This is my sons (five years old) favorite leapster game. It is the most educational. He loves all of them. (Cars, Madagascar, Go Diego, and a few others.) He likes the Kindergarten the most because I think he gets a sense of accomplishment from the learning games. I would purchase this again in a heartbeat. Great gift.



4. We bought this and another game for my just-turned 4 year-old daughter's Leapster this Christmas and she loves it! This game is a great way to help your kids learn to spell in a fun way. My daughter is big on learning and this game is perfect for her. In the month since she's been using it she's started spelling SO many words, it's amazing! She would play this game all day if we let her. Excellent game! Definitely the best of all the Leapster games and one of the best educational games available.



5. The Kindergarten and the Sonick leapster games are my daughter's favorite. She will actually plead with me each night to let her play it before she goes to bed. We also have Thomas, Spongebob, Disney Princess, Scooby Snacks, and Spiderman. But the Kindergarten game is by far her favorite, and one of the more educational games.

5 comments about LeapFrog Word Whammer™ Fridge Phonics® Set.

1. Our 4 yr old daughter loves playing with this toy. She is learning how to put letter together to spell words and loves the music also. The toy is very encouraging and easy to manage for small hands. I would buy this toy!



2. My fridge has been covered with magnetic letters for years and it makes for great ad-hoc reading lessons. Adding the Word Whammer really kicked it up a notch. The kids wander away from the breakfast table and will play with this because it's the only toy in the kitchen. As soon as it's touched it makes inviting noises - basically catnip for little kids. There are several games on it - but the basic activity is to put some letters in it, wham it, and then it says the letters. If the letters make a word it knows (and it knows most 3 letter words I can think of) it reads the word, congratulates the kid, and then sings a "reward song". The fact that it's limited to 3 letters is a strength for beginning spellers. You can do guided play and use it as a teaching tool - but its real power is that kids will go up to it on their own and engage in word play. My daughter, 4, actively plays with it and is starting to be able to make it pay off reliably. My son, 7, is too old for it - but he tries to make it read bad words (another strength of 3 instead of 4 letters). He gets some play out of it too. Its location on the fridge (stuck on with magnetic adhesion) means that it has taken a bunch of tumbles. Since the method of play involves hitting its "whammer" button it takes a ton of abuse. It's been in constant rotation for over 2 years and shows no signs of damage. It also hasn't required a battery change in that time - excellent performance in my book.
   
   All in all - if you have little kids (3-5) you should definitely have the Word Whammer on your fridge.



3. Everything about this toy is cool. My almost 3-year-old son loved it and really truly played with it unlike alot of his other toys. The phonics education in the toy is awesome, and even though he is a bit too young for certain aspects of the toy, it is something that he will grow into and learn from so he will be able to enjoy it for some time. It truly is an educational toy. The durability is great, but I would just warn people that the combination of a refrigerator toy, and a pre-schooler who likes to try to pour his own juice (and prefers to try when mom and dad are not in the room), is not a good combination. Our first one of these was drowned in OJ and nothing could be done to save it. we still loved the toy enough to spend another $20+ on a new one.



4. After my 2-yr-old stopped paying much attention to his first LeapFrog Fridge game that just let you put in one letter, he was really happy to start playing with the word whammer. He immediately started spelling "Mom" and "Dad", then "Nap" when he was tired and "Sad" when he was mad about not getting a cookie. I'm amazed everytime he spells a new word.



5. My (almost) 3yr old daughter got this last Christmas (5 months ago). Everyday we do a new "word of the day" and she LOVES it. She now understands that "every letter makes a sound" so that letters are no longer just an alphabet to memorize...but that together they create words. Pretty outstanding considering children aren't expected to read until Kindergarten. She knows ALL her letter sounds because of this product.
   
   GET IT if you want to encourage your child to love "early reading" without the pressure of school. Plus...it challenges me to come up with a new 3-letter word everyday!

5 comments about LeapFrog Leapster Learning Game System - Pink.

1. I have bought three or four systems and dozens of games over the years for presents. DO NOT PAY double for things you can get in stores. Amazon's price for the "Pet Shop" game was $40 more than just getting it at kids-r-us and shipping it last Christmas. I ended up returning the item to the Amazon seller last Christmas. [...]
   
   Amazon seems to have opened it's doors to all the tiny re-sellers that can not provide a good price since the inventory is so small. They also never offer super saver shipping. BEWARE of the prices and who is supplying the product. A quick drive in your car will save you so much money!



2. Santa brought this to my five year old last Christmas, however my little one has just turned two and she amazed her pediatrician last week by playing with this (and refusing to have any part of her physical exam.) She understands it, her fine motor skills are excellent and she has a lot of fun painting, changing colors, shapes etc. It holds her attention for a lot longer than toys aimed at her age group. Only problem is now I have to buy another one because of the Screaming Not Sharing issue, but as my husband says, I just had to have a third child...



3. We bought this for our 4 year old, who was so excited she didn't want to hand it over so we could pay for it. She had it for about a week, with the Puppy Pals game, and then we started having issues. The screen got black splotches all over it. I was very upset, i mean we pay good money for these toys and then they turn to junk after very little play. So i had my husband take it back and exchange it, because i figure everything needs a second chance. So we've had the new one for about a week now, and my daughter brings it to me this morning and again the screen is splotchy black. So right after i emailed my husband, ticked off again, i started messing with it. And you know what i figured out? My kid likes pushing on buttons, all of the buttons, including the one that makes the screen darker or lighter. So, now that i've figured out that the first one didn't really have to be returned, i'm quite happy with this toy :) And have no complaints. So to anyone who has this issue, its not the games fault, your kid just likes pushing all the different buttons to see what they do. These two buttons are on the bottom, opposite of the volume buttons. Happy Learning!



4. This is an amazing toy! My daughter wants to play it every chance she gets. It sucks up batteries pretty quick, so I am happy that I bought rechargeable batteries for it. I can't imagine replacing with regular batteries - on average - every 3 days! I am also a bit discouraged that there is no screen cover on the new models. You can find the screen covers, but they are very expensive, and not on the leapfrog web site. They also need to make a Leapster case that holds more than 6 cartridges. That is not big enough.



5. I have been thinking of purchasing this for about a year, but kept backing off b/c it is expensive when you add in games, and my daughter does not show a huge interest in video games. We are taking a long road trip this summer and I finally decided to give in and get it, plus the price has come down. I love that it's educational. I played with it myself and it does a good job of verbally explaining what you are to do, instead of needing to read like with a gameboy. I bought 2-one for my 5 y.o. and one for my almost 3 y.o. My 5 y.o. loves it and can figure out almost all the games on her own, just what I need to keep her occupied. My 2 3/4 y.o. just messes around with it as I expected, but it does entertain her for a short while. She always wants hers when her older sister is playing. I've learned that you need to buy the EXACT same thing to avoid major fighting, which I do not want to deal with while driving. I wish they had younger aged games like the VSmile Pocket, but it didn't get as good reviews and I didn't want to induce more fighting with different game systems. I purchased Dora, Kindergarten, Princess, & Backyardigans. Both of them like Dora and the onboard games best. Backyardigans is their least favorite which I got specifically for my youngest. So far it seems durable, as the screen hasn't gotten scratched and the kids aren't exactly gentle with it. Also, we've had it a couple of weeks and have not replaced the batteries yet. I was waiting to see how much it ate in batteries before I bought the recharging system and think I will skip it. My daughter plays for about 1/2 hour almost every day, longer in the car when there's nothing else to do. I am so pleased that she can play with something that will hold her interest and she is learning while doing it. As for my younger daughter I expect she'll grow into it in about 6 months and my oldest will still be into it for at least a couple more years.

5 comments about LeapFrog Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set.

1. I ordered this when my baby was 1, my older daughter was 5, and my husband was 38, and everybody loved it! My baby loves to dance with the music, my 5-year old loves to match the animals, and my husband would make the wrong match and laugh like a silly boy. This is absolutely a great toy for the whole family!



2. My 17 month old got this for his first birthday and has loved it before we even managed to get it out of the package. He does periodically get scared of some of the sounds but that has been a phase he's been going through with animal sounds since his birthday and not just this toy. When he is afraid of a certain sound for awhile, we just put that animal up higher on the fridge until he gets over it.
   
   He likes being able to mix up the animal parts and make it make different sounds and likes the songs it plays. He also just likes to play with the magnets themselves. It is a good toy to occupy a little one while they're keeping mom or dad company in the kitchen.



3. This is the one toy my son plays with on a regular basis they are all magets and when you put them into the barn it tells you what you put in.. and it sings songs this is one toy to get..



4. We have this for our daughter to keep busy with while we prepare dinner. She loves it! It is cute too no matter which front and back you put in it puts it together (ie PigCow, that's silly, etc). She even likes to care it around (it has a handle on top). Just a caution, the songs are catchy!



5. This is a fun toy for my 1 yr old daughter... it gives her something to do in the kitchen. I think it is well worth the price. The paint scrapes off of the peices easily enough if they get on the floor - but thats the only drawback - I would recomend this toy.

5 comments about LeapFrog Leapster Learning Game System.

1. Purchased 4 for grandchildren ages 10-4 yrs; they all love them and spend hours using them. Even the 2 yr old tried taking them to pretend he knew what he was doing. Terrific for traveling or "waiting" periods versus using my cell for games. Very durable; great colors.



2. This is far and away the most popular as well as educational toy in the house right now, and there are quite a few. I purchased it for my slightly hyperactive daughter who was nearing six at Christmas, in the hope that it would keep her in her chair (when so many other hyped products failed) and focus her attention. It has succeeded past my best hopes. She has now aced four cartridges at all levels. It has even helped her to use the family computer, where before she was too excited and willful to be able to master the necessary mouse movement and keystrokes. She has absorbed essential kindergarten skills that she was lagging in before.
   
   There is a wide variety of cartridge choices for children 4-9, that teach skills in a very entertaining way. This product is also excellent for developing fine motor skills. I have seen a big difference since it's arrival on Christmas, in patience, focus, and precision.
   
   There is one drawback, however: it has caused a lot of fights with her 8-year-old sister, who also loves it and can't wait to get her hands on it.
   
   To sum it up: it's worth every penny.



3. We have two of these, one for the 6yr old and one for the 3yr old. They both love them. As parents we find many of the games to be very educational and that they reinforce the learning the kids are doing in school. Also great for road trips.



4. Both my kids have the Leapster and I have been very pleased up until now. A sylus pen has snapped in half and I am finding it impossible to get a replacement. So take good care of your stylus!
   
   You would think you could buy a replacement but I have contacted the manufacture and they are discontinued. New pens are on backorder and to get one I have to just keep calling back every once in a while! Ok I have nothing better to do! I guess I should throw out the game and just buy a new one!
   
   If your Leapster breaks take the pen off and sell it on ebay, it should sell fast as the only one on the planet for sale.



5. Both of my children love the leapster. We just bought a second one for our 8 year old. The only problem is with the battery cover. There is a spring covered screw that broke almost immedately. The toy still functions fine despite the battery cover problem and it keeps the kids entertained for hours. It is great on long road trips.

5 comments about LeapFrog Fridge Phonics® Magnetic Set.

1. My daughter loves this fridge toy! It keeps her busy while I am preparing dinner. Caution, the song is very catchy. You will find yourself singing along... S says Sssss S says Ssss every letter makes a sound and S says Sssss!



2. My 1 year old loves his fridge phonics!! Even though it says 2 years plus, he loves trying to fit the magnets into the speaker and pushing all the buttons. Great for motor development. He especially loves listening to it sing the ABC's. He drops it on the floor all the time and sometimes he uses it as a hammer but it hasn't broken yet, so we are definately pleased. We love this product!



3. Thanks to this toy my daughter knew how to say and recognize all her letters before the age of 3 (without any assistance from me)!!! She would even tell me the sounds they make!! This toy is awesome, definitely worth the price and very durable!! I never had to change the batteries once in the 2 yrs I've had it and for several months my daughter played with it everyday. My kids LOVE this toy!!



4. I know I may be exaggerating just a little, however I believe that this toy is the best way for them to learn their ABCs. When I cook in the kitchen she plays with it on the refrigerator instead of tryin to get to my pots and pans. =) My daughter is 15 months and she humms the tune all day long and she says some of the letters already! It may not be clear, but you know what she is tryin to say! Do you know a 15 month old that can say "w"??? Well now you do!



5. My daughter got this as a Christmas gift. She loves to play and dance to the alphabet song and change the letters in the base unit. Other than just learning her letters, my husband and I make simple words and then teach the sound of the word to her. I see that lower case letters are now available and will most likely get them. I hope that the unit lasts long enough(or that it is still available) for my now infant son. It is so much nicer to have a toy like this than plain old letters. I hope to find a magnetic unit like this that has numbers, and I hope it is made by LeapFrog.
   
   We have several LeapFrog toys-games and they all are of good quality and reasonable price for what they are. As my children get older, I hope that LeapFrog will still be around and making toys.

5 comments about LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table.

1. My girlfriends got this for my daughter for Christmas and she has been all over it ever since. She LOVES it. It really keeps her entertained. And the music is not annoying like other baby/children toys. There's a jazz vibe to some of the songs. Love it.



2. I picked this music table up used at a yard sale and it was one of the best purchases I made as a first time mom. My baby started playing with it at about 3 months (you can take the legs off and set the table top on the floor). She progressed to being able to stand at it and rarely left it's sight. It allowed me some away time to get other things done. She quickly learned all of the buttons and keys. My only complaint is that the green "door" flap fell off, and it seems that others that I've seen at second hand stores have that same issue. Now my baby is 15 months old and doesn't play with it any more, but I am definitely saving it for a future child.



3. This was one of my daughter's favorite toys from before she could even stand until even now, when she is a great walker. It is a noisy toy, but the noises are fun, and the talking is educational. The book on top (someone was upset that it only had one page...) is for switching from one mode to another - music to alphabet. It also goes from English to Spanish. At this time, my daughter mostly enjoys the music part, but I think as she gets a little older she will listen to the talking more.
   I REALLY recommend this toy...its a favorite of ours and everyone else that I know that owns it :)



4. This is a terrifiic toy for infants around 6 months and up. Took my child
   to day care in Tahoe while skiing and they had this toy and he went right to it. Knew I had to buy it. He just loves the toy. Great musical
   notes and ABC's.



5. The granddaughter was given this wonderful toy on her 1st birthday. She took an immediate interest exploring the various sounds that SHE created. We still smile at the pictures of her "squat dancing" to the music. Many times during the course of a day she would amuse herself with other toys, but she ALWAYS came back to this one more times than I could count. The table legs are sturdy enough, if you dont have a roughrouser or climber. This toy is worth every dime. Wouldn't hesitate to purchase another. You won't be disappointed.