Parenting Toddlers

For Christmas, we bought Peanut a LeapFrog Clickstart. Whenever I was doing work on the computer, she wanted to “work” too. (She espeically likes YouTube.) I thought a kid computer would be great - she’s a little young according to their age recommendation, but I thought she could struggle with it and learn better. Plus, it’d be around longer. Anyway, I decided on the Clickstart by LeapFrog. It’s a cute little computer. It plugs into your tv (buy an adapter too so you don’t have to use batteries). The keyboard is wireless, so you can sit with your toddler on the couch or the floor while she uses it.

The keyboard itself is really cute…looks like a dog and comes in green and pink. It comes with four games, two of which use the keyboard and two of which use the mouse. That’s my only problem with the computer. The mouse is really hard to use. I don’t mean only for two or three year olds…I had problems with it! The mouse pad is attached to the keyboard and is really small. Little hands that don’t have their coordination down have problems - the mousepad is smaller than a regular one you’d use on your own computer. It is hard to maneuver.

I thought the computer would sit and gather dust because both Peanut and I would get frustrated. She couldn’t handle the mouse well at all. But surprisingly, she kept at it. She sat in my lap at first. I put my hand on the mouse to control it and had her put hers on top of mine. This worked well. Now, a few months later, she can do the mouse games. It’s still tough for her and I wish the mouse pad was bigger, but she can play it on her own.

You can also buy other games to play on the Clickstart…Thomas the Train, Nemo, the Backyardigans, Dora, and others. I would love a Clifford or Curious George one - so hopefully, they’ll make more games.

You can buy Clickstart at Wal-Mart or other box stores or online. They’re easy to find and pretty affordable. They’re about $50, which is great if your toddler can use it for two or three years.
If your child is up for a challenge, I’d definately recommend this. At first, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time playing it with them…I had planned on turning it on for her and letting her play while I checked my email and things like that. That doesn’t really work. You need to be actively involved, especially until they get the mouse action down.