LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: Jake and The Never Land Pirates

My niece and nephew are both under 5. On occasion, I am tasked with watching them. “On occasion” has become more frequent than I would otherwise want, but…family… Anyway, I live in an upstairs apartment, and also have a neighbor next door. Kids stomp. They scream to talk. Sometimes, for no known reason, they break into song and/or dance. Because their parents are worthless, they also idolize John Cena, and do their best to mimic WWE style wrestling if not constantly under a watchful eye. Discipline is not an option (see ‘parents’ and ‘worthless’ cited above. Also, ‘time out’ is not discipline, see below), and therefore, distraction is key for these visits. After my DVR managed to fill itself with Dora, Wonder Pets, and all that ilk, I decided it was time to look for other options. Given their obsession with walking off with my phone, and touching everything that has buttons, LeapPad seemed reasonable.LeapPad 2 and a half dozen games became Xmas presents. The LeapPad is nearly indestructible. When the kiddos “set it down” on my solid oak coffee table, the LeapPad is unscathed, which cannot be said about the wood (distressed wood is in, right?). The thread that keeps the stylus attached must be some carbon fiber, spider web hybrid- it can withstand swinging, chewing, etc. My only complaint about the Pad is that it goes through batteries faster than a puppy can decimate your girlfriend’s shoe closet.As for the games themselves, I have no complaints. The kids appear to enjoy them, and it keeps my DVR from teaching me little kid Spanish, my dog from being harassed, my neighbors from burning wicker me in effigy, and crayon off my walls. The fact that they may actually be learning something from the games is a happy secondary effect to their distraction. When they get sick of these, I’ll buy more, because I’ve learned that you can’t put a price on silence, or the ability to simply step out of a room to use the bathroom.On a side note, parents- discipline your kids, or give permission for someone else to do it. America is the culmination of thousands of years of human education and experience, and at this rate, it’ll be flushed in 2 generations because no one knows how to say “no” anymore, and there aren’t consequences for bad behavior. Time out is not discipline. Ostracizing children to a designated area and limiting their movement does not deter them from prison, it prepares them for it.

I never trust the reviews where the reviewer got the item for free - but I have to say, they were true here. This game is so much fun for my almost 5 year old. It is pretty easy for her (but she is at the upper age limit) - but still reinforces numbers, shapes, sequencing, etc. She's playing it while I write this and the sounds aren't too annoying. The graphics were so much better than I expected and she loves finding and using the cards. They work really well (until we lose them all - lol). I wasn't thrilled with our leappad platinum (although Leapfrog had great customer service and fixed it for us), but I'm glad we bought it now that I see how cool these imagicards are. It's really easy for my daughter to use them and it's interesting to watch her switch between using her finger, the stylus, and the cards. It keeps her more engaged. I like watching her play too! We bought this "used" (just the packaging was damaged a little, but still new) through the amazon warehouse deals for twenty bucks. It was worth the price. And I'm cheap! :) oh - for Everest fans (the new girl pup) - she's part of the game (and is on one of the number cards), but isn't one of the "pup" cards - those are just the original dogs and Ryder.

My son is 3 1/2 and he loved the movie Finding Dory. Since we had a LeapPad Platinum, I decided to buy this game, intending to give it to him when he turned 4. Recently he's been learning about shapes, colors, and numbers.It wound up being an impressive bargaining chip for potty training since he saw it the day it arrived so we gave it to him early.I am so impressed! He loves playing it and on only the second day he was asking to play the "Octopus game" (one of the story games which works on shape, color, and pattern recognition) and he was flying through the game! It starts on an easy level then appears to guage his comfort level before escalating to something that will challenge him.Every game has some purpose in teaching mathematics whether it be placing together puzzles, identifying patterns, comparing sizes of objects, or general counting and number identification.I would definitely recommend this game! It is hands down my son's favorite game thus far!I can't comment on if it would challenge a child on the higher end of the listed age range, but will let you know as my son gets futher along in the game to see how difficult it becomes!