hand held consoles for preschoolers?

[Artechim]

DS is 3.5 and has been playing games on DH's ipod - treat yourself to one and let her have a turn on the trip? lol

DH has an old Nintendo DS that I have been meaning to dig out because I think DS would be able to play it now if we got some of the kiddie games like Cars.

I don't want him to spend his whole day playing on consoles, but half an hour before tea or on a long car trip seems alright to me.

[courts&munchkins]

I have bought ds1 a leapster explorer for his birthday (in about a month) it's all educational games teaching them counting and drawing and geography etc. You can also get on the net and download ebooks, apps, games and more for it.

[feeb]

I have thought about leapstar for DS1 (nearly 3) for christmas but not sure.

Buy an ipad for you and let him use it!! DS1 plays on it lots of kids games to download!! DS2 (nearly 18 months) just figured out how to unlock it and press random buttons!!

[*Ang*]

DD2 is only 2 and is able to play on the older kids DS's - admittedly alot of it is just banging around randomly but she knows how to turn it on, get the pen out, change games and take photos! Am a bit ashamed to admit all of that really.

We are more then likely purchasing her a DS in tomorrows toy sales as the amount of fighting we have when the other kids play them (only on sat and sun mornings and when we travel) is so horrendous that we cannot deal with it any longer and are succombing to her tantrums and are buying her one! Another thing to be ashamed of as a parent!!

Incidentally DS was 4 when he got the DS as we were just about to embark on a 7 week os trip - he was able to play it very easily and picked up on it quickly.

So what I am saying is that I would recommend a DS.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I let DS play with my DS just before he turned 4. He liked the Peppa Pig and Thomas games, but since getting racing games (Pixar Cars) he has been still for hours when I need it. Lots of practice and concentration skills, as well as "good" in the pub and airport. Also lots of meltdowns at first because it is not easy to control the cars without practice.

We also have travel-sized games such as snakes and ladders and small books. These have worked well for us too. A few little cars can be the difference between happiness and boredom.