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[kiss_me_cassie]

Dilemma...
Over Thanksgiving, Grandma & Grandpa gave us gifts to give N for his birthday (12/8) and Christmas. We were given the instructions to parcel them out for whichever one as we saw fit. (They were unwrapped and under tissue in a gift bag.) There was A LOT of stuff - most of which I think N will love, even if I don't. (OMG, more Thomas? A

Comments

[glamourousapron]

I don't see LeapFrog as taking the place of a parent to teach a kid to read. From my experience, its more of an electronic book that helps reinforce reading. But if you are that uncomfortable with it, I would tell the grandparents and just say you don't think that it is an appropriate gift and if you could exchange/return/swap it at the store for something you feel is a better gift for your child.

[blue_stealth]

Very much agreed.

OP: We personally have not purchased any LeapFrog or LeapPad product because we have Apple products here which I personally think are far more versatile, games are less expensive and can grow with the kid, so therefore my daughter has an iPod Touch. There are games on there to help teach language and math skills. That doesn't mean that she uses it to learn to read or her math skills - it just adds that aspect of learning to the spectrum to help your kid overall find the fun in that part of things.

I do think that no matter what format or platform you choose to teach your child from, you need to be present and part of it, digital or not, and some parents use the digital in an effort to be lazy. However, many parents do not do this and it can be a helpful tool to allow the children to find learning fun in a different method from what they are necessarily accustomed to. If you worry that a digital format will interfere with your kid's current lifestyle, then exchange/return and choose a more suitable gift.

[coendou]

I think the leapfrog thing is pretty awesome myself (and I have a Master's in education and working on a phd). We actually played with one in one of my educational design classes and we all agreed that while there are flaws in the design (that was a few years ago, may be redesigned now) overall it's a great idea for helping kids who are starting to read but haven't mastered it yet. They can read for themselves and only use it on unfamiliar or difficult words, which gives them the control to get help exactly (and only) when they need it. And even if they're feeling lazy and use it on every word, it's like listening to a book on tape - which is actually a beneficial activity for beginning readers

[allisonjayne]

I'm not really into those kinds of things either, but maybe it would be useful to hang onto for any long car trips or plane rides, stuff like that?

There are few gifts I would return for my kid if someone purchased them with good intentions, even if they're not something I would buy or even prefer them to play with...it depends though on your relationship, some people are totally comfortable with their gifts being returned and don't care at all, others might be hurt.

[kiss_me_cassie]

Yet another thing I never thought of. It would probably be great for long car trips and considering that most of our family is 6 hours away, we tend to take a long trip like that every 2-3 months. THanks for the idea!

[octobre09]

Personally I wouldn't return any gifts given to one of my kids unless it was extremely inappropriate. I think it's a really cool little gadget personally and I've thought about getting one for my daughter when she's a bit older. I don't think it replaces the work of a parent at all, I sit and read with my daughter every day and she can read a tiny bit in two languages and she just turned 3. I would use the LeapFrog has an educational way to entertain herself while reinforcing her reading abilities. I say give it a try.:)

[janietrain]

I agree with this. I have a 4-year-old who taught herself to read and she reads really well. I have zero to do with that. Kids learn from everything in their environment and it's just a toy.

[kiss_me_cassie]

Well, the returning was part

A) thinking it wouldn't be that useful - until I read y'alls comments and realized DUH! Supplemental and good. (See, there's a reason I post stupid questions here. Because I don't think things through all the way!) I'm totally rethinking that now! :)

and

B) There are (let me count!) SIXTEEN different things in this package from Grandma and Grandpa (NONE of it clothes, by the way - all toys). Nevermind what the other set of Grandparents might get, aunts, other relatives and oh yeah, the few things WE want to get him for his birthday or holiday. I was trying to cull out excessiveness because talking to the grandparents about going overboard has gotten us NOWHERE.

I do REALLY appreciate your thoughts, though, because yeah, I think I DO want to try it now. :)

[bealsabubbette]

I think it looks cool, but my kids are spoiled as anything by iDevices.

The leapfrog system gives you lots of accessory gift options for other loved ones with stricter budgets - and makes the car more awesome.

[kiss_me_cassie]

I think y'all are selling me on the car use more than anything else! ;)