Ideas on Nintendo DS Portable Gaming System Versus Leapfrog for a 3 Year Old

He's a little young for a DS. My 4 yo needs quite a bit of help still to play mine. I have a Wonderpets game for it which he can navigate ok but he gets really frustrated playing other games. If you don't like the leapfrog, the only other thing I can suggest is an iPod touch or iPad with age-appropriate apps.

I personally like Leapfrog products because they are very educational. My son is almost 5 and he's had his Leapster since he was 3. It has been dropped many times and it still works wonderfully. I dont know how durable a DS is but I feel they are made for slightly older kids (6 and up).

Sorry but I really think you need to buy your child a Leapster instead of DS. Not sure what Leapster you are thinking of because the ones that my kids were PHENOMENAL in teaching them. My oldest practically learned to read with his. And let me say that there are NO educational games on DS aimed at 3-5 yos. And actually the ones that they do have for the older kids are horrible. So I would say wait for the DS unitl at least 5 maybe 6. AT this age they are ready for a games only device and you won't feel as bad about it as you would letting your 3yo sit there playing mariokart.

added: I suggest that you go to gamestop just to see the ds titles. And then go to target to see the leapster. This will probably tell you all that you need to know.

I would recommend a Leapster. My son is almost 5, still loves playing with his, and I don't see any time in the near future when he will outgrow it. He got his when he was 3, and was able to play it then too. It is fun AND educational, which is why I enjoy having it around too!

I have to agree with some other mamas that the DS is not nearly as educational, and honestly, is pretty tech savvy for a 3 year old. Grant it, I'm sure he would learn, but if you want this to be more about educational games than "just for fun" ones, I would go with the Leapster.

I'm a Leapfrog fan for educational games. My son got a Leapster when he was almost 4. It reinforced maths concepts really well and reading too. I view the Nintendo more as a gaming system full stop - I could be wrong. I tried it out at a store myself and couldn't make heads nor tails on how to work it or what I was really trying to do. I think it would be too difficult for his age, but okay for 6+. Friends have told me to get an Ipod touch more than the DS and after researching myself, I think that is true as one thing important to me was the battery life - on an Ipod it is better, especially for long distance plane travel. I just got an Ipod Touch 4G - I'm also not a techy, but so far so good. This way I can get some of his favourite songs, videos, movies and games - as well as for myself. My son is 6 1/2 now and still will play on the Leapster but not as much - all of a sudden they outgrow things and move on to Ben10, Star Wars and the like. Suddenly Diego, Cars and Toy Story games on the Leapster are too babyish. Angry birds is a hit on the Ipod, and we don't need as many starter educational games. I posted a question today about games on the Ipod kids would like....

My kids got their leapsters at age 2. it was perfect for them. The interest towards ds came at age 6 when they got their ds. leapster is by far a whole lot better for your son and even my daughters at 7 years of age. it is more educational and more durable. but everyone their age has a DS so i caved in.
i really say go with leapster, so many better games, plus leapfrog. com usually has great sales on games. amazon.com too.
i think he will be fine age-wise for a ds around 5 years of age. it is not as easy to understand the games and it's even fragile. the stylus thing breaks by sneezing it is THAT fragile. just my opinion.

um for a DS you're looking at 7+ There are very FEW educational games on the DS and no games for 3 yr olds.
My kids both had leapsters the leapfrog hand held and my son is 6 and still uses it, the games on the leapster explorer go to age 9. All the games are educational.

I would not go with the DS yet. My daughter finally got hers at 6 and she hasn't fully mastered the games by herself until recently at 7. They also require a certain amount of reading ability. They are very expensive and the games are tiny and can get lost easily, and the system can break if dropped. I don't think the games are educational either. We have a leapster for my 5 yo that he has had since he was 3. It has been dropped and thrown and hasn't broken. The games are easier for him to do and are bigger sized so they don't get lost as easily. My vote at his age would be for leap frog.

I can't say much about the educational games but if you are going to get a DS get the DS3D. Yeah that one will be replaced too but at least at this moment in time you have the latest model. :-/

My kids both got a DS at age 3 and 4. There really aren't too many educational games, but it is a system that will grow with them unlike the leapfrog system. As they get older you can buy more advanced games. We love it. To limit the amount of time spent playing we only allow them to play this game system in the car or if there is a long wait for dinner and we are out. I have also allowed them to play it while waiting at a doctor's office for my appointment to keep them quiet.

they have games for kids this age for the DS. ones that are educational. go to walmart.com and look for them. also my son was 4 when he got his. he was 3 when he started playing playstation. he's a whiz at it now that he's almost 5. they also have nerf covers for the ds's so that if it's dropped it won't hurt it.

You could go to GameStop and buy a used DS or even a used GameBoy. For the GameBoy you can only buy used games since they are no longer made but there are many, and they are all around $7. The advantage of the Gameboy is that it is small, with easy controls. They are also very cheap now (about $20 for a used one) since they are no longer made. My kids still use their Gameboys (they call them GameGirls and have red ones). A new DS (would be DSi or DS-LX) goes for about $160. There are used ones that are the older kind my girls have, called just plain DS. To counter the statement that a DS will not hold up, my girls have had theirs for about 6 years now and dropped them and the youngest even bites the top when she is frustrated (teeth mark show, hey, I guess it is better than throwing it across the room).
I just asked my kids about good starter games and they said NintenDogs is fun and easy. There is also drawing one called Art Acadamy. BUT both my kids say that a DS/Gameboy is probably not good for a 3 year old, more for 6 and up.

My four-year-old plays Mario on our DS, but she has her older sister to teach her how to play video games so she's pretty good at that stuff. I agree with the Leapfrog-type games aimed at that age, they're pretty boring and the game selection kind of sucks. We have two DS systems and we LOVE them. My husband and I play with them as well as our two daughters. We are buying them the newer versions for Christmas.

There are not a lot of learning games on the DS the best you can find is an interactive Diego game!