What Electronic System for 4 and 6 Year Old?

We have a 3DS, and both my kids - age 3 and 7 - love to play with it. You can use all DS games with the 3DS (but not vice versa), and if you get 2, the kids can play the games against each other. Neither likes the Leapster, it sits on the shelf unused (to be fair, they did like it until my older child got a 3DS, then it instantly became uncool and not worth the time, even for my 3 year old).

The only other thing I'd consider is an iTouch, because they like playing the games on my iPhone so much. And games are so much cheaper than DS games. Plus they can stream kids' shows, facetime with each other (and with cousins if anyone in their house has iPhone/iTouch/iPad).

Whatever you decide, I'd get the same for both. Otherwise, they will just decide one is better than the other, and they'll always be fighting over that one.

I'd get an iPod. There are so many fun or educational free games and it will grow with your children as they age. A LeapPad, Leapster, DS, etc... they get grown out of quickly and you have to pay for each game.

My girls got iPods when they were 4.5 and loved them... still do at age 6... and probably still will when they're 10.

Most of the time, the old games will work in the new system but the new games won't work in the old system (so that cool new game she wants might not work if you get the older system). I don't know which one is better but I think I would like the one with the bigger screen (less eye strain).

As for the four year old, I suggest the Leapster. My daughter has had hers since she turned 4 and has loved it (didn't show an interest until then even though some cousins had one too). She'll be 7 in December is just asking for a DS now. Since the Leapster is for ages 4-8 and she's a bit advanced, we are thinking of upgrading to the DS for her birthday (Dec) and people can get her some games for Christmas.

My daughter is 4 n has the leap pad 2 they are getting ready to release the leap pad ultra as well. She loves her leap pad uses it every single day

My boys wanted a DSi a few years ago. After much researching and cost comparisons, I decided to go with an iPod Touch. They do SOOOO much more, the games are free or $1 each, and they still love them two years later. I bought Otterbox cases for them. They've been dropped tons of times with no damage.

DS games are expensive, and like you said....not backwards compatible. With the iPod, they are connected to my iPhone account so if I buy a game, they get the game too. And we own it on whatever Apple device we use.

the ds systems are upward compatible (ds games work on 3ds). We found our kids got bored with the leappad systems very quickly. It might be best to have 2 ds systems so they aren't fighting over the DS when they older

I would really rethink buying a ds. I have 6 kids ages 4 -12 and we've gone through this same thing. Some of our kids have a ds, but honestly they never use them anymore for various reasons. One big reason is the expense of games. It's outragous! If they only have a few games, they get bored with them and I can't spend $40 a pop to buy a game they might get bored with. I've tried going to gamestop and buying used, but either they aren't exciting games, or the price is still high. Also, if not taken care of, the games are small and can get lost easily. We have since moved on from the ds. There are other options that cost the same as the ds. A Nabi 2 for instance. It's a child tablet that runs $179 at Walmart and Best Buy. You can download as many free games as you want and they will love it. You can also put parental controls on it and it has a rubber bumper around it to protect it. Kids learn fast in this techie day and age, you'd be surprised what your 4 year old can do on a tablet. My almost 4 year old plays on my husbands ipad all the time and can maneuver through it, pick games she wants to play, turn on Netflix, etc. I recently allowed my 2 sons (6 and 8) to buy with their own saved money, a Samsung Galaxy tablet. They were $179 at Bestbuy. My husband felt my 6 year old would outgrow the Nabi 2 too quickly so we chose to go with that tablet instead. They have so many games they can play that are free! And if you have Netflix, they can watch Netflix on them as well. But My 6 year old step daughter has a Nabi 2 that her mom bought her for her birthday. She is happy with that. My 10 and 12 year old step kids have Kindle Fires from their mom as well, but we did the research and decided we liked the Samsung Galaxy tablet for my 6 and 8 year old. Sorry, this is kindof rambling, I'm trying to type fast. But seriously, research the Nabi 2 for your 4 year old and maybe for your 6 year old. Or a Samsung Galaxy Tablet for your 6 year old. I really think it's a better investment and a better bang for your buck! Literally 1000's of free games!!!

My kids have a DSi which aklo plays Game Boy Advance games, and a 3DS which also plays with DS games. I don't know as I'd give either to a 4 year old though.

An iPod Touch is great for what it does, but it is not a substitute for a DS. They both play games, but not the same kind. If your kids specifically want to play the Nintendo games, an iPod isn't going to work.