Customer Reviews

JumpStart Toddlers and My Learning Scrapbook

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this title for my 21 month old. He has a few other CD's and has been spending time at the computer for almost 6 months.

Jump Start Toddlers is basically a good program - the graphics, sound and content are entertaining and kept my sons attention. However, the program is more geared towards "watching and learning" than it is interaction. I would describe Jump Start Toddlers as more of a "video" than an interactive game. Most, if not all, of the activities require significant involvement on my part. The "pointer" is a small white/yellow feather that is difficult to see at times and you really never know which end of the feather to point at the action you want to click on. In addition, once in the program, I had a hard time figuring out what to do next. All of this means the parent must "play" the game while the child watches (for the most part). I would think an older child (3 to 4 years) would get more out of this title.

I would highly recommend Reader Rabbit for Baby and Toddler over this title hands down!

On a positive note, the program installed in minutes (Windows 2000 Pro), I have had no problems using the program and it is certainly educational.

I am a domestic engineer. I have 2 children under age 5. I have purchased the Jump Start for Toddlers software program and it changed our lives. The software was quick to install and easy to learn. The kids picked up on the music, interactive characters that talk to your children to encourage them to do a task or to simply remind them what to do next. The environment is kid-oriented and the activities are simple as 123, ABC. We liked it so much and the kids grasped on it so fast, that we purchased the additional series.

At around 2 years old my son began showing interest in computers. His dad is an IT Administrator so our son was around computers all the time. Also, he was (and still is not) interested in learning the traditional way (through books, play, etc.), but rather through computers. We were NOT disappointed with this piece of software! Through this program my son has learned most of the alphabet, shapes, numbers and colors. We have had this one for about six months and he has not lost interest in it.

However, there are some things that I was not pleased with. First, this product is recommended for children 18 months-3 years. It would probably be more suited for children 2 1/2 to 4 simply because it requires basic knowledge of how to use a mouse and the program does NOT teach this skill. Also, the concepts it teaches (letters, numbers, shapes, colors, music, animals, memory skills, etc.) are more geared toward the preschool crowd. Second, the layout is "busy" and it is hard to see all of the different entrance areas (even for me an adult). Finally, another minor complaint (it is very minor) is that the duck's voice can get annoying after 15 minutes or so for me, but my son enjoys it so this is tolerable.

Overall, I highly recommend this software, however, for children over the age of two.

My two year old daughter has really enjoyed this software. She has learned quite a bit from it [alphabet and numbers especially] and enjoys all the different activities. I think it is a really cute game, although after playing a few times certain parts of it got a little "old" for me. I like "Reader Rabbit Toddler" a slight bit better, but I think this game is great too. It was definitely worth the money we spent on it.

Jump Start knows how to deliver. This CD is perfect as a first CD for a baby and toddler. It is also a perfect complement to a youngster's CD library. Your youngster will learn, but more important at this age, your baby will become comfortable with computer. It is remarkable to see a child as young as 15 months "playing" on the computer. This CD is very easy to use. Installation is a snap. You and your baby can "learn" together from this remarkable CD. Highly recommended!

Most of the games/activities are much less stimulating than those of Jump Start's 18mo to 3yr-old version. In fact, some of them are so simple and shallow that it's hard to believe there isn't more to them that is inaccessible somehow due to a programming flaw. The butterfly selector is confusing and requires adult assistance. The program comes with two levels of play, and the level selector pops up anytime the mouse nears the bottom of the screen. This is bad because many of the child's activity zones are also located at the bottom of the screen. This means the level selector gets launched inadvertently every few minutes. The selector then covers up the section of the screen that the child is playing with. In addition, the level selector doesn't work according to the steps laid out in the directions. My husband and I are both multimedia developers and neither of us can figure this selector out. Our son enjoys 2 of the 6 activities, so I feel we got somewhat of our money's-worth. But I probably wouldn't purchase it again. My recommendation: stick with the Jump Start program for 18mo to 3yr olds.

Our son loves JumpStart Baby, with Teddy, and the ease of "press any key" to make things work. JS Toddlers often doesn't give you a clue if it wants a key to be pressed or the mouse to be clicked - at least Teddy would politely remind you of what to do, whereas the duck will just stand there and tap its foot impatiently, which I just find annoying. A little verbal prompting would go a long way! Graphics and sound weren't as smooth as JS Baby, either - it's very jumpy, skips, etc.

I love the JumpStart line of products. I purchased this for my child and tried to install in on a computer that operates on Windows XP. No luck. The sys req are for Win 95/98. Tech support says that it MAY not work on the XP sys, but should on older versions. So I pulled an old computer out of storage that has Win 95 on it. No luck there either. Tech support won't help because they no longer support Win 95. Maybe it would work on Win 98, but I give up. This is the 3rd disc from Knowledge Adventure that I have encountered problems like this on...and I am pretty handy with computers.

This game is very disappointing. There is actually very little to do and see. It requires a parents help to point and click the mouse and has very little interaction. Other CD's capture my 21/2 year olds attention for 3x as long. It is rather expensive and keeps a young childs attention for only 10-15 minutes. I read several other reviews saying it would be better for older kids - but my 5 year old daughter complains the CD is boring with nothing to do. I suggest Reader Rabbit or Fisher Price Little People instead.

I keep my son at my office, and as soon as he gets to the building, he says .. Where is DeeDee! What a learning experience this is for toddlers. He is 2 1/2. This software takes some adult help to move between programs, but there is lots they can do on there own. A must have for the computer literate 2 year old!