Customer Reviews

LeapFrog My First LeapPad Alphabet Bus

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

We bought the original "My First LeapPad" in blue for our son when he had just turned 2. The new BUS design is good for both boys and girls and has extra features that the original pink or blue ones don't have. I recommend letting your child play with a friend's LeapPad to see whether or not they like it and are willing to sit still and concentrate on it. Some kids may not be ready for it until 3 years old or older, while some kids catch on at 2. We got The Wiggles book to go with my son's LeapPad and we couldn't tear him away from it. We had to show him how to do some things at first but after a few weeks he was on his own. One thing I recommend is to turn the LeapPad on and then hand it to your child. I have known several children who get too enamoured in the whole on-off-on-off thing at a young age and miss the whole point of the Pad. After a while they will be able to manage that aspect too. We know of 2 other toddlers who do not care for this toy (one is 2 and one is 3 years old), however my son absolutely loves it. He is now 2 1/2 and has several books and is not only entertained for a LONG time by the My First LeapPad but he learns things from it constantly. I am impressed. We recommend the LeapFrog phonics bus and Fridge Phonics as well--they worked for us. The My First LeapPad helped make our cross-country drive with a 2 year old much more peaceful than I'd anticipated. A few new books to go on it and we had hours of back-seat entertainment. I would buy this toy, especially with the new BUS features, again in a heartbeat.

I got this for my daughter at 28 months, which is under the age recommended. At first, she didn't seem all that interested in the LeapPad..... I think I liked it more than her. I worried that I'd given it to her too soon. I tried reading the stories with my daughter and demonstrating how to use the magic pen (I don't know if that's really what it's called, but my daughter likes it). Eventually, she caught on that one has to push the "GO" circle for every page..... but she still didn't seem to care much for the LeapPad and didn't play with it by herself.

About a week ago, though, I found her playing with it alone. She'd gotten the LeapPad out of the backpack on her own, picked a book ("I Know My ABCs"), inserted the cartridge, and was using it properly.... and appeared to be having a great time.

Since then, I have found her reading/playing with it several times. I suspect this is going to be a great toy to have around for traveling and/or other times when she is playing independently.

One reviewer wrote that it's better to read to your children than to use the LeapPad, which I agree with if you have to pick one or the other. I read aloud to my children several times a day and they prefer this to the LeapPad, but I think the LeapPad is great for teaching early reading and number skills in a fun way. It took a little time (figuring out how to insert the books & cartridges and using the pen), but I think the LeapPad has been a worthwhile purchase.

My family and I have purchased Leap Frog products since my (now 4-year-old) son was born. The My First LeapPad has been the only product where I've kicked myself. Although the product is great and has entertained my son since he was about 2 1/2, we have had constant problems with the cartridges. Half the time (at least) we put them in, they say, "Whoops! That's not a LeapPad cartridge!" It happened a lot with the first one we purchased and, thinking it was a fluke since we've never had problems with Leap Frog products before, we exhanged it - about three months later (too late to return it) we had the same problem. We have bought about five or six of the books and the problem comes up with each one.

I purchased this product for my 4-year old daughter who became bored with it quickly, but my 2-year old son just loves it. Unfortunately, the stylus pen quit working in under 2 months of purchasing it, rendering it useless and frustrating my son. I am attempting to get a replacement pen through the company but I'm not sure if that will fix the problem and the fact that it quit working so quickly makes me feel like it isn't a high quality product. The fact that they have to sell replacement pens means they didn't make it to last

This product was a FIVE STAR to begin with, but three months after gentle (and it was) use, the stylus broke. I have to pay almost 1/4 the price of the original game to get a new one...we've invested in six different games (at roughly $13/each) and now it's useless unless we spend more money to repair something that should never have broken in such a short time.

What's going on with quality control?

This is a great introduction to reading. I purchased this for Christmas '05 when my daughter was 2. She is now 3 and plays daily with the Alphabet Bus. She knows how to change the books and place the cartridge in. She also can follow the books directions of either playing or listening to the book. The voice is clear and the batteries are great (I just changed them after 6 months). This is a wonderful and durable product. She knows her ABC's, colors, shapes and numbers (we are working on addition and subtraction) and the Bus has been a great assistance to her learning at home and school.

We do like this toy & I am (sigh) going to probably buy a new one if the replacement pen ($5) doesn't fix it because our kid really misses being able to use it but it is irritating that you go to the Leap pad website and you can see that stylus problems are clearly an issue for them & the warranty is pretty short (90 days) and if the problem reoccurs, I think the warranty on the fix it solution drops to 30 days, I guess so they dont have to keep sending you pens!

My son is only 2 and he loves the Alphabet Bus. He had the original My First Leap Pad but it seemed to be a little mis-wired and did not work correctly. My son loves the Beep-beep of the bus and listening to the Wheels on the Bus song.

The things you should be aware of if switching from a traditional My First Leap Pad are:
-The letters on the bus are not indented as they are on the original insert that comes with the Leap Pad which makes it harder for little ones to trace because the letters are quite small
-The bus does not have a head phone jack like the original does, which we thought was a great feature on the Mt First Leap Pad

My 3 year old daughter just got My First LeapPad Bus and so far we love it. It's easy for her to turn on and off by herself as well as change the books and cartridges. This is a big plus since she likes to be independent.

I love that many of the books have characters she recognizes and since it is interactive, she prefers it to the TV. The books that we have are at her level, so she can easily follow the directions. When she answers questions correctly, she is rewarded with positive sounds and remarks. When something is done incorrectly, she is encouraged to try again.

Overall, this is a great electronic learning device that is stimulating for my daughter, since, realistically, I can't read books to her 24/7. It allows us to converse about the activities she is performing while I'm able to do necessary household chores. It's the perfect "toy" for the few hours a day that I can't provide my full attention to my daughter.

My children have all had a my first leap pad. The educational value for this toy is wonderful, it is truly a well thought out way to teach children academic topics in a fun way that they perceive as playing. HOWEVER, I am completely frustrated with the way this toy will not hold up to gentle wear and tear. Unfortunately, I could not give this toy zero stars for durability. The original blue leap pad we had broke (after about a year) and the new yellow school bus leap pad had now had the stylus break and you cannot play with this toy at all. Since we are past the warranty period, we will (I imagine) end up purchasing a new one, as my daughter loves it and uses it all the time at home and in the car on trips.



Please consider this in buying this item. It seems to me that Leap Pad must realize this is occuring, yet they will not do anything about it to increase the lifespan of their toy. How disappointing for the kids and expensive for the parents. I hope that someone who works for Leap Frog reads the reviews on Amazon periodically to understand this is a problem.