GREAT PURCHASE

I bought a leap pad for my son, now 4, and he loves it. My 3 year old daughter is getting her own this Christmas because she uses her brother's a lot. She is learning the 50 states now and I am relearning with her. There are a lot of things to do in all the pages. I like that they have many different books. The only thing I didn't like is the paper pages. My 1 year old has gotten ahold of one of the books and ripped it. My son was so disappointed that I am buying him a new book. I highly recommend this to anyone with young children.

Wish it was better

Great idea needs to be be a bit better...don't like that once you write on a book it is permanent...essentially they can't use it again because there last answer is right there. Also, it slips alot. My daughter get's frustrated by the fact that when she turns the page or increases the volume that it sometimes takes 5 times...trying to position the book exactly right for the action to take place. Overall, I do like it although she doesn't play with it as much as I would have thought...it does make me feel better though that she has an educational toy, even though I have to ask her to play with it.

loved by the parents more than the children

I love Leap Frog products because they are educational and supposedly fun. I bought a leappad more than 5 years ago and it went through my 3 children (no problem with its lasting quality). Their reactions toward it are pretty much the same. They would take it out and play with it occasionally, just like any other toys of theirs. When it is out, they would fight over using it. Then they would forget about it for weeks or months. My kids play with their Legos and stuffed animals more than the Leappad. So don't expect that your kid will suddenly transform and become a baby Eistein because of it (no toy is going to do that). It keeps kids occupied when you don't have time to read to them yourself, but it certainly does not substitute reading to your children yourself. With all that said, I still think it is a very well-designed toy. The books are great. It is still the best electronic toy out there for young children (I like it better than other Leap Frog products too). Over the years, I have given Leappads to other preschool children as gifts. It makes a great impressive present.