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This is a very fun and educational toy. My 5 year old daughter really enjoys this interactive toy and has used it quite often. She can use it as a tool to learn about all kinds of topics from reading to science, etc.
They were wonderful. Love this for my son as well as others. As a former teacher we had these in our literacy room for struggling readers.
It's fun, the noises it emits aren't terribly annoying, and it's somewhat expandable/adaptable. This was the only reason any of them could think of for the product malfunctioning. It isn't the educational boon that it's advertised to be, but most consumers will know that anyway. Bottom Line: Avoid buying this product. However, one of our children did get many hours of play out of this without getting bored. Like most of the other negative reviewers, my biggest problem with this product was it's lack of durability. It's fun, and I suppose it does have some educational value, but mostly it's just another expensive electronic toy that will malfunction shortly after the warranty expires. LeapPad is touted as an educational toy, but just about anything with lights and sounds is so-called; kids learn more from reading, playing, building, and 'doing' than they ever will from an electronic device.
If LeapPad were just another pricey electronic form of edutainment, I'd have given it maybe 3 or 4 stars. Of course, I knew, they knew, and they knew that I knew, that this was all a farce; that Leapfrog is just like most other manufacturers: they don't care about quality or service, as long as they can sucker enough new consumers into buying their overpriced product. Our LeapPad stopped accepting new cartridges after about a year. Find a friend or neighbor who has one if you're curious, but don't waste your money on something that will almost certainly malfunction as soon as the warranty period is over. Subsequent calls to customer service were futile; each rep we spoke to insisted that we must not have take proper care of the LeapPad. Yes, it provides some phonics practice and can help emerging readers. We tried cleaning the cartridges as directed by customer service, but that didn't help. Like lots of electronic toys, it is apt to lose it's appeal fairly quickly.
I gave it it's low rating mostly because of it's poor durability. But LeapPad is no substitute for more active forms of learning and is, of course, entirely dispensable. The different cartridges can extend it's appeal, but only for so long and they are expensive. Yes, children may learn some random facts and may memorize lists (state capitals, multiplication table, etc).
LeapFrog is creating new ways to isolate the child and create a lonely environment with an animated voice. You make reading fun, the parents. Purchase this product and your child can learn to read without Parents. Don't buy this with the notion your child will pronouce their words better, or make reading fun. Its just a fancy toy not a tool. Thats right, give this to your child and then you can no longer be apart of their childhood memories. Buy a book from Amazon and read it to your kids at night, during the day, on your lunch break.read together.
I think part of that reason is we encourage her to read and a big part of that was her using the leappad. My daughter, now seven, is in an advanced reading class.
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