Anyones Kid Have a Nintendo Ds?

My 5 year-old has a Nintendo ds and she is rather indifferent about it. However it is nice to have for swim meets and long car drives. I do not let her use it more than 15 minutes at a time because there can be health risks. Cooking Mama is a hilarious, painless game and my child loves it. My husband bought it for her and frankly she was happy enough just having access to Webkinz once a day--the ds is a bit frivolous but oh well...it's nice to have as a bargaining chip!

My 9 year old has a DS--that he got when he was 7. My 5 year old has a Leapster. She has a good time on the Leapster. She tries playing her brothers DS when he isnt looking, but has no clue how to play the games. She keeps asking for the DS, but I dont think she is ready. I think the Leapster is more educational. Also, my neighbors 5 year old just lost her DS (cant remember where she played with it last). That is an expensive toy to keep track of. If you do go for the DS, spring for the extended warranty too. Just my 2 cents :-)

My son, who is almost 6, has been playing (in a very limited capacity) my husband's DS for almost 2 years now. We are very careful how much time and what games he plays. He plays mario kart and little einsteins, games like that. It is possible for them to play, but it depends on each family's point of view. Good luck.

My son just turned 7. He was 5 when he got a gameboy advance. That is when his addiction to anything video game started. He got a ds when he turned 6. He just turned 7 and got a PS2. He also has access to video games on the computer. This was all started by his father thinking he needed these things. At 7 years old, he wants to do nothing but video related games. My 12 year old brother is the same way. It all started for him when he was 7 and introduced to video games. Now video games is pretty much all he wants to do too. In my opinion, video games turn our kids into couch potatoes and in turn lazy kids. Your son will be introduced to this venue soon enough without your influence, via school or friends etc. The longer you can hold off on it the better for your son. And when you do, you need to be vigilant about the amount of time you allow him to play video games each day. Its real easy to let them become babysitters, and thats when they get hooked. My mom and I both regret the day our sons had a controller put into their hands.

I am an educator, and can tell when Kids are tv/video game junkies. Some may think games are educational, but really education comes from spending time together and being in Real life. Our kids don't know how to interact and are having more problems than ever before in school. Get your child something that you can be a part of too.

My neighbor got her daughter a DS for her 6th birthday, and she quickly grew bored with it because she couldn't play any of the games by herself, you have to be able to read the instructions! So when my daughter turned 6 two months later we got her the leapster and she really enjoys it, and can do everything by herself. (She is starting to read, but most of the games don't require it.) I don't think the DS is appropriate for kids until about second grade, or when they can read pretty well, although I'm sure it does vary some from game to game.
T.

My daughter has used a ds since the age of 4 and it is totally appropriate for them if you pay special attention to the games you buy for it. We were going through the leapster or ds debate too and I borrowed a leapster to try it out and the picture quality is 100 times better on the DS. Plus the DS has just about the same games that they have for the leapster. There's dora and diego games. There is also a line of games called Smart Girls / Smart Boys and it's reading and math skills. Also there is a crayola game where they have to color to make it through the game. So there are many acceptable choices for the DS. Plus Leapfrog has their systems set up so that your child WILL outgrow the games for the system and will need to move up to their next system whereas for the DS you just keep buying age appropriate games.

Hope that helps

Hey Cheri
Have you looked into the Didj system from Leapfrog?
We have a DS, 2 leapster and a Didj. My middle son is 6 and loves his Didj, I bought one for my daughter 4 and she will get this year for Christmas. I like the Didj best out of all of our hand held games. Here is some info on the Didj system
Introducing Didj™. The first-ever gaming handheld that connects to your computer to customize both gaming and learning.

Your Own Skills: Sync the games to skills you’re studying in school. Download your own spelling words or math problems.

Your Own World: Play for points, then trade them online to customize your games with characters, backgrounds, music and more!

My 6 year old has been playing leapster for two years and loves it, there are games for older kids too, so it grows with your child and all the games and fun while learning. My friends 4 and 6 year old have a ds. They love it but aren't learning anything.

The Leapster is great!!! We bought our son one last Christmas. He was 4 and turned 5 in Feb 2009 and it has been perfect for him!!! The games start out for 4-6 yr olds and go up to 8-10 year olds. This game system is also very durable and is a lot less expensive...some day my son will have a DS; but right now we are very happy with the leapster!!!

We just bought a DS lite for my now 7 year old daughter for her birthday. We have also owned leapster(s) for a while before we bought the DS. What I've found is that the Leapster is more educational than the DS as well as more cost friendly. All three of my girls still play with the leapster. The DS is played with by my 7 & 8 year olds, but it is mostly because we have 2 leapsters and 3 girls, not a good match. The 3 year old has inherited the leapster and absolutely loves the educational games, which are right at the level she needs.

As I see it, you would need to base your decision on what you want your child to do with the gaming system. Do you want an educational system that tends to top out at age 9-10 or do you want a fun system that everyone can play (even the Momma and preschooler).

We have a 4 yr old son and for some reason, he just doesn't care for the Leapster so we ended up giving it away to a friend who has twins the same age. They love it. What he does live is using our laptop to play games on nickjr.com. They are educational.Yes, they also drawing, coloring games as well.

We are a video game family, so yes, we all do have DSs. My youngest (age 3) can play certain games - Mario Cart, Crayola Coloring, WarioWare, Kirby Squeak Squad, etc. You just need to make sure there isn't a ton of reading in the game.

There are not many (if any) educational games on the DS.

Hi Cheri
We felt the same way. At 4 yo we got leapsters. I was even hesitant for that-- best thing we did.
Now at 8 yo we're just considering DS.
Our twins learned how to read, spell and have fun-- still they pick them up -- now at 8 they are beyond that and looking for a bigger challenge.
In fact-- if you do want leapster-- we're getting rid of ours and we have a ton of games.
We're splitting up the games with the leapsters.
My email is ____@____.com if you're interested in chatting about that as it wasn't your question.

About me: 48 yo perfusionist and PT coach for nationwide online biggest loser for $$ as a wellness coach, wife, and mom to 8 yo twin girls.

B. J

My 7yr old has one... he's allowed ot play it 1/2hr a day. He has tons of games (we hit a good sale before Christmas at one of those game stores that was at the outlet mall), and he does well with it. I probably wouldn't buy it for a kid under age 7/8 though.... its a pretty 'delicate' piece of equipment. Our son is very easy on his but we've already ahd to repair it twice (once on our dime, once on theirs).

Our son had a V-smile Pocket that our 3.5yr old uses now. I'd highl yrecommend that. Our 7yr old still likes those games, its really educational, and its alotm ore durable for younger kids, and also more age appropriate.

My husband and I have owned every gaming system under the sun over the past ten years. Nothing we have, or have ever had, is really appropriate for under age 10 in my opinion. We do have a DS, but only for Brain Age (which only I play). We have a Wii to share as a family, which I like much better because at least it gets you up and moving, and the whole family can play together. I'd strongly suggest going with the Leapster. I love everything Leapfrog (and so do the kids!) and all of our toys/video games have held up remarkably over the years.

Cheri, both of our kids have Leapsters and LOVE them. My daughter is 5 1/2 and got hers for Christmas. My son just turned 8 and got his 2 years ago. They are playing video games - and with characters and other things they know about - like eye spy. And they are learning - a lot. But it doesn't seem like it. Go for it. you can always still get a Nintendo later on.

The leapseter. My six year old still loves to play this. We have two, so the kids do not fight over them.

I, personally, think that 5/6 is too young for the standard video games. There are few, anymore that are kid friendly and I do not like the thought of him wanting to do that vs. read or play outside. We limit the time with the Leapster, just as we will the Wii when we get one.

For us I do not foresee us getting a Nintendo anything unless someone else buys it.

Our 5 yr old son and 7 yr old daughter got the DS systems for Christmas and they love them and dont have any trouble playing the games. They can also draw and send pictures and "messages" back and forth to each other and to their cousins when they bring theirs over. We have Star Wars Lego, Spiderman, Club Penguin, Bunnies, Horse Star, Imagine Ballet,and a couple others that I cant recall. We got them cases and accessories sets with headphones if they want to play in the car. They have a limit on the time they can play, and they need to take care of them(put the games and systems back in the cases etc. or else they lose the priviledge of playing with them next time. They have not had any trouble learning to play the games and really enjoy them. They have educational games you can buy but if you are looking for that Leapster might be a better option. They will not outgrow these however like a Leapster. Games can be bought for under $20.00 and sometimes even less at Walmart. Hope this info helps:)

My daughter got her Ninetendo DS for her 7th birthday and was late in the game on that. I've seen 4,5yr.olds have them.

I like the fact that the Leapster is educational but it's not going to be "cool" in a few years. I'm 28 and still love to play nintendo and I had one of the very first nintendo gameboys and still play to this day occasionally.

I have a Nintendo DS for myself and the only thing my 5 year old can really play on it is Mario Kart. He has a Leapster that he plays. You might even be able to find a Leapster on Craigslist or ebay really inexpensive.

Cheri,

About half the kids in my son's Kindergarten class last year had a DS, so 5 is probably not too young. I prefer the Leapster because the games are educational. Even though the game prices for both run about $20-30, the cost of a Leapter is $50-70 and the cost of a DS is $130-200 depending on what accessories you buy with it. In my mind, $50-70 is a lot of money for a 5 year old's toy. I will spend that on a bike, a Leapster, but that's about it. $200 is just too much to spend on a child that young, in my opinion.

S.

Sorry to say, but I would go with the DS - I have tried the Leapsters - many different kinds, they get very bored with them and then they get put on a shelf. The DS they can play for many age levels. My 10 yr old daughter and 6 yr old daughter each have one and they love them! There are many games that are learning with them also. And if their friends were to get them, they can "picto chat" with each other, which is like chatting on a computer with your friends, if they are within distance, say in a room or on a bus, or in the car. My kids, on long rides, pictochat, and it keeps them occupied for hours. They think it is fun to draw pictures, and I hear laughing instead of arguing in the vehicle. Very relaxing.

That age should be ok. I probably would't do it any younger though.

We got our son a ds at 5 yrs. It worked out fine. Just be prepared to monitor what games you buy for age appropriateness. Also, set ground rules with your child about how much time can be spent playing the ds, where it goes when he is not playing (they are small enough to get lost), etc. And I highly recommend Game Stop (or other stores like it) where you can trade in your old games and buy new/used ones to make it more affordable.

I think it all depends on the maturity of the child. Also, is he destructive? Does he take care of his toys? They are about $130 brand new, plus you fork out about $20-50 on each game depending on what you get and where you get it. To me, that's kind of expensive stuff for a 5 yr old.
Since he's only 5, my opinion would be to get a VSmile Pocket or a Leapster as those are smaller, cheaper, and educational, which is a plus!
Hope this helps!!

I got my daughter one for CHristmas when she was 5 1/2. It is "ours' not just hers and she uses it often. There are certainly educational games to get for it. I was goign to get a Leapster too but thought she'd outgrow it soon. The DS is something she still uses and somethign that I use as well. It has been well worth the money. There are SOOOO many different games that you can get for the DS too, not sure how many different games you can get for the leapster.

Personal I think they are too young at age 5 (maybe 8ish, and limited time), they can not do much on it and it is very easy to damage. I have also seen some bad outcomes, I use to babysit two boys age 5 and age 8 who had one and I would limit the time they could play it but the parents did not. Yhey were always fighting over it and in less then a year it was broken and it was all the kids wanted to do.

I would go the v-tech route.

I think your suggestion is best go with the leapster,its easy for the child to manage on his own and if he should ever need any help with it you can have fun too,its a great way to further bond with your child just be careful grown ups can get carried away,I know my kids have a leapster.