Customer Reviews

LeapFrog My First LeapPad Orange

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great learning toy; the books are more simplistic and less busy than the regular LeapPad books, and it would be a perfectly good toy for kids aged 18 mos - 3 or maybe even 4.

However, I recommend you at least consider the LeapPad because it will have a longer lifespan. In our home, the LeapPad is still being used by our 3rd grader. And my youngest son hardly ever played with his "My First LeapPad" when he was a toddler, preferring his siblings' LeapPad.

Another reason to look at the regular LeapPad is that the regular books also start at pre-K, and contain far more activities and games than the "My First LeapPad" books.

On the other hand, the "My First LeapPad" books are sturdier, more like board books, whereas the regular books are a just a thick, high quality paper.

And if you are not concerned with longevity or don't wish to invest the extra $ for the regular LeapPad, your young child is bound to enjoy this pared down version.

One other thought, one of my kids tended to absently chew the cord on the pen if he wasn't supervised. I wrapped them with tape and the pens continued to work, but if you have a child who tends to put things in their mouth or who is teething, you will want to supervise the use of this toy.

The LeapFrog educational toys are in general creative and fun. My First LeapPad is certainly innovative, and taking into account the age group it caters to [3-5 yrs], it has myriad activities that will not only keep young preschoolers entertained, but also serve to educate them at the same time.

The item is easy to use - it comes with a platform [that requires 4 AA batteries], a Magic Pen, and a book. Once the book is attached to the platform, one needs to push the On/Off button, and use the Magic Pen to start a page, by pressing the word "GO". Then, the pen may be used to play various games that teach things like parts of the body, deductive reasoning, shapes and colors, numbers, letter names and sounds, and pre-writing skills, not to mention the Spanish language. The games are simple, and with the guidance of an adult, a preschooler as young as 2 may be able to participate, learn and have fun with the different activities.

Music is also incorporated into the learning system, such as the letter piano where a child can tap the letters to hear the sounds on the piano. Different musical intruments are also represented with the accompanying sounds.

This is a high-quality learning tool that serves to enhance a child's understanding of basic concepts and is a fun tool that may be enjoyed by a young toddler with the help of an adult or used independently by an older preschooler. My almost 3 yr old had some trouble manipulating the pen, but with my help she was able to use it with minimum difficulty.

Final verdict - a great learning tool for preschoolers!

I got this for my daughter's third birthday and it's a hit with her. The pad goes over all the basics, colors, shapes, parts of the body, music, Spanish and more! I love this toy and my daughter loves playing with it. If you're looking for something to keep your little one occupied and be educational at the same time, buy this! It's a great item!!

I got this toy to keep my child entertained on an airplane and it worked great. The pen response and books are a lot of fun. It looks like a keeper!

I love this toy! It's very educational and fun. My 2 1/2 year old son loves it so much that I just bought a second one for my younger son (currently 9 months) to use when he gets older. The toy is pretty durable, but with constant use I fear it won't last to pass on to my youngest. Amazon is a great place to buy the books for it, but I have to say the $69.99 list price here is a joke! I just bought a My First LeapPad (same as here), a First Touch LeapPad, AND 3 books at the manufacturer's website for less than that, including taxes and shipping. So look around. You can also buy the older blue and pink models for cheaper on Amazon, and they are just the same.

This is a really fun and educational toy, my two children really seem to enjoy it. We bought one for each of them. I believe the targeted age group begins at three, however, my younger of the two, is 2yrs and she seems to do quite well with following the directions and navigating through the pages.

One issue I have with this toy is that the on and off switch is located (for right-handers) right under where the kids lean their wrists to use their pen on the pages and it ends up turning it off a lot. Then, when they turn it back on there is a pause that is about 2 seconds too long causing them to think it didn't turn on so they push it again and it turns off. It then becomes a vicious cycle of on and off until I have to hold an impatient finger back for it to come on properly.

The other issue is the clip that holds the book in wasn't very well thought out. With busy little hands and bodies, the spiral binding on the book pops out of the notches that are supposedly meant to hold it onto the pad itself constantly. The pages of the book won't fold under, you just flip them up as you move to another page, so with the pages hanging over like that it easily "catches" on pants, hands, knees, etc. when they use it, particularly when sitting the leap pad on their laps.

So, a few tweaks and it would be perfect!! I wouldn't make it a deterrent in purchasing this item...just know going in you'll need some patience in helping your little ones with a couple things pretty regularly.

My girls ages 3 & 5 are very gentle children. Even though my children are very good with their toys, the leappad system, still wasn't durable enough. The cartridges from the very beginning would occassionally not work unless I wiggled it around. I thought maybe the first one we bought was faulty, so I bought a second one about 6 months later. It worked the exact same way. Misreading the cartridges or shutting off mid-way through play.

It's so disheartening to hear your 3 or 5 yr old become frustrated time and again because her favorite toy is tempermental and constantly stops working mid-play.

We used our leappads for naptime and quiet time in the car. It was great for getting my daughters to play quietly until they fell asleep. After months of the system no longer working, my girls gave up. Now we are looking for a better quality learning laptop or system for them.

It's ridiculous with today's technology, that this simple learning system failed in durability after only a few months when toys from my childhood like Texas Instruments Speak & Spell still works to this day!

This was a gift for Christmas that only lasted 10 months. Some of the activities kept my son entertained, but I can see why so many people recommend to just buy the regular Leappad. There was not a lot involved in the activities, and most of it my son already knew. The reason I gave it 3 stars is the lack of education it provided and the fact that it broke. The batteries started to die, because it would start to talk slow then turn off. Then after changing the batteries it wouldn't work and kept saying the batteries needed to be changed, after I already put in fresh new batteries twice. It was fun to see my son get some use out of it while it lasted, but I wouldn't suggest buying this unless your child is still working on the basics (letters, numbers, shapes and colors).

This is a great idea - my 3 year old daughter recieved it for her birthday. So long as I help her put the book and memory cassette in all is well! She plays with it for a long time, listens to the instuctions and seems to be learning numbers/letters etc along the way.

Cons first:

The books easily fall off the two pegs that hold them on there

The volume can't be controlled

One of my kids has this "thing" for buttons and it is likely that the button to turn it off and on will be busted down within a few weeks

Pros:

Teaches kids true respect for "real books" because they are most like a real book

Self-motivating. One of my kids is totally addicted to messing around with this.

Helps with fine and gross motor skills which is why I got it.

I really like this which is why I bought it and a few of the books. I have the Tag system which is great. I have the Leapster system on the Wish List.

I'd rather read to them but at the same token, when I am cooking, or doing dishes if they want to "read" (they are 20 mos old) this is what they run to right now along with "real books". With "real books" they look at the pics but can't read yet. This device actually helps them w/the gross and fine motor skills when using so I am ok w/that.