video games for upcoming plane trip?

[NicaG]

We're trying to think of some entertainment options for our 4-year-old for an upcoming plane trip (international flight, so 8+ hours). Does anyone have experience with video games for this age, like Leapster or something else? I'm not sure I want to introduce this stuff yet....in your experience, do your kids get something out of it, or do you regret letting the cat out of the bag? Any other suggestions, thoughts, ideas? Thanks!

[redpajama]

Both. My son got a Leapster for Christmas (6 weeks or so before his 4th birthday), and he loves it. The games are educational in nature, but integrate popular "characters" that he likes (Star Wars, Ratatouille, et cetera). He enjoys playing it a lot.

He enjoys playing it *so much* that it is something we have to regulate. I sort of hate having to "police" his toys or his time--telling him he can play for 30 minutes, or only have he does ________. So I would think a bit about how much time you're comfortable with him spending on something like this (I'm thinking more *after* your plane trip than during), and decide how you're going to handle it. Because there's a good chance that he might want to play it more than you want him to.

[boatbaby]

I wrote an article all about entertaining a 4 year old on a long trip (I did not get paid to write this article, so I think it's ok to link here).

[DahliaRW]

At that age, I'd probably do a portable DVD player over video games. My ds who is 4 likes to "play" a few videogames on occassion with Dad, but his attention span is so short for them. He'll watch a whole movie, though (if I let him).

We've never brough media stuff on planes, but the longest we've flown is 5 hours. He slept, colored, played with stickers, ate snacks, and loved the free apple juice! His favorite was a book with a wipe off pen since it was so novel and different from just crayons.

[hottmama]

My 3 yr. old got a Leapster for his birthday (in December) and he loves it. We often drive from Ann Arbor to Louisville (~6 hours) and it occupies him for most of the drive. His favorite game is Animal Genius, although he also likes the other games we have.
Also, my kids both love listening to audiobooks-- my 3 yr. old especially enjoys the Little House series. A portable CD player is <$20 and you can get audiobooks at the library.
I didn't want to start with video games but my oldest son is 6 and talked me into it. We limit to an hour a day of screen time (video or computer games mostly, occasionally a video) after their homeschool work is done.

[scbegonias]

Can a child use headphones with Leapster? We're also considering getting DD one for her birthday for car and plane use only...but the headphones function would be key for us.

Thanks!

[hottmama]

Yes, there's a headphone jack. Definitely a necessity in the car!

[scbegonias]

Thanks!

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by hottmama

My 3 yr. old got a Leapster for his birthday (in December) and he loves it. We often drive from Ann Arbor to Louisville (~6 hours) and it occupies him for most of the drive. His favorite game is Animal Genius, although he also likes the other games we have.

Oh, that is too funny! We often drive from Lexington to Michigan (south of Ann Arbor- Hillsdale County) and one of ds's favorite games is Animal Genius, which he got for Christmas. Coincidence, huh?

DS has a Leapster that he uses almost exclusively for in the car on long car rides. Although we just drove from Kentucky to Florida and back and I don't think he used it at all... maybe once. It's definitely not an addiction for him so I don't regulate it at all. It's just kept in a bookbag that is used for travel or in a drawer so it's not in his sight all the time.

[LuckyMommaToo]

I agree with a PP that if your DS has had no video game exposure, you might want to borrow one from a friend to see if he's interested. Also, you can sometimes snag used games from Amazon or ebay for half price (leapster).

DS has loved Leapster since he was a little over 3, but DH (a video game lover) definitely helped with that. Now at 5-1/2 he's losing interest in Leapster. Some kids we know definitely aren't into it at all.

The games DS like at that age were the Lightning McQueen/Cars ones.

Good luck,
-e