LeapFrog ClickStart My First Computer

== Leapfrog ClickStart My First Computer ==

If you are looking for a 'computer' for your toddler I would recommend the
Leapfrog ClickStart My First Computer that we bught for our granddaughter last Christmas, when she was almost three.

=== Getting Started ===

From LeapFrog, the ClickStart is suggested for children ages 3-6 years of age and is priced at around £35. ClickStart consists of 2 pieces, ...
...started with ClickStart. Of course, LeapFrog also sells game cartridges separately for £15 including a few that feature popular children's characters like Dora, Nemo, and Thomas.

=== The Keyboard ===

The ClickStart keyboard is very cute and pretty close in size to an actual keyboard. It is made of sturdy plastic and shaped to look like a cute little puppy who is the ClickStart mascot named Scout. Ours is the standard ... more

Leapfrog ClickStart My First Computer

If you are looking for a 'computer' for your toddler I would recommend the
Leapfrog ClickStart My First Computer that we bught for our granddaughter last Christmas, when she was almost three.

Getting Started

From LeapFrog, the ClickStart is suggested for children ages 3-6 years of age and is priced at around £35. ClickStart consists of 2 pieces, a puppy shaped cordless keyboard with an attached mouse and the console (8"x7"X2") which attaches to your television through a/v jacks. Both pieces require batteries in order to get up and running. You'll need 4 "C" batteries for the console and 4 "AA" batteries for the keyboard. I believe that here is an optional adaptor you can purchase for the console separately for about£10to eliminate your need for "C" batteries though you will still want to have stock in "AA"s.

The system is easy to set up, just plug in the matching yellow and white jacks that are corded to the console into your TV (or cable box, DVD player, etc). Out of the box ClickStart comes pre-loaded with a few very basic games and activities to get your child started with ClickStart. Of course, LeapFrog also sells game cartridges separately for £15 including a few that feature popular children's characters like Dora, Nemo, and Thomas.

The Keyboard

The ClickStart keyboard is very cute and pretty close in size to an actual keyboard. It is made of sturdy plastic and shaped to look like a cute little puppy who is the ClickStart mascot named Scout. Ours is the standard green and white colour combo though this system also does come in pink and white too.

The keyboard has the standard QWERTY layout which is a nice change from many children's computer toys that include keyboards layed out in alphabetical order. Each row on the keyboard is coloured differently - orange (for numbers), purple (Q row), blue (A row), and green (Z row). There are a few extra buttons on the keyboard your child can press for a hint or to activate some special sounds.

The Mouse

The ClickStart mouse is attached to the keyboard and can be used either right or left handed. There is a small pawprint shaped mouse-pad that clips onto either side of the keyboard to provide a slippery surface for the mouse. The mouse itself is small in size made for little hands and reminds me a bit of a portable laptop mouse. It has just a single button for your child to "click" as it controls a large red pointer arrow on your TV screen.

Playing with the ClickStart

When you turn on the ClickStart it brings you to a sign-on screen where you can enter your name, or click on a name you have already loaded. The system can hold up to 4 names and you can select either Level 1 or Level 2 as a default for that player. Once your child clicks on their name it brings them to a menu screen where they can pick from a few icons to play any of the preloaded games and activities. Or, if you have inserted a cartridge into the console it will display a cartridge icon and the name as an additional selection.

The pre-loaded games/activities are as follows:

Inbox - Get postcards from far-away places and then play games that works on listening, problem solving skills, and mousing skills. There is a hide 'n seek game where your child will have to click on the correct picture that is described to find a hidden animal behind it. Also there is a game where the mouse cursor morphs into a camera and your child will have chase the animal as they hide between each of the 3 different pictures on the screen and snap a picture of them when they pop out.

ABC Tree This game consists of a tree with different kinds of fruit on it (that change throughout the game.. sometimes it is lemons, other times mangoes, oranges, etc) and as they type letters on the ClickStart keyboard they fall into Scout the puppy's wagon. On Level 1 they can type any letter and on Level 2 each piece of fruit will have a letter on it and a certain letter will flash and they need to type that particular letter for it to fall.

Type Time This game lets your child explore the keyboard and works on learning their letters in Level 1 and later in Level 2 they can work on creating words. In Level 1 if your child hits a letter it will pop up on your TV and say the letter and show a picture of something that begins with that letter. On Level 2 your child can type to their hearts content whatever can fit on 3 or 4 rows of your TV.

1-2-3 Click This game has your child popping balls of paint using the mouse to track them and click to pop them. Level 1 is non-discriminatory (pop 'em all) and then in Level 2 it asks your child to pop balls that have certain letters/numbers on them.

Scout's House This is where your child can interact with Scout the puppy and explore Scout's dog house. They can feed Scout bones (that they have earned while playing games) and even play a game of catch with Scout the little pup.

Our ClickStart Experience

My almost 3 year old granddaughter was thrilled to get a "big kid" computer/TV game like her big brother has . She already knows most of her letters and numbers and very much wants to be a big kid and use the computer like everyone else in the house can do. The cute puppy styling appealed to her, and even though we have the gender neutral green version she took to it right away.

Since Janieis not yet 3 years old I thought that we'd start with Level 1 on the games and go from there. Apparently the games are programmed so that they automatically advance and get harder based on your child's play but not much detail is given about that.

Level 1 is listed for children 3&4 and Level 2 for ages 5&6 as a guideline from LeapFrog. My suggestion is that those guidelines are very low and most 5 and 6 year olds will yawn at this system which smacks as being targeted to preschoolers (2-4 year olds).

I switched to Level 2 and we played the games together and I found that it was more engaging because instead of just hitting letters on the keyboard or mousing over every paintball it required Janie to use a bit of thought to make sure she picked the right letter instead of just any random one. So with that being said, if a 2 year old can play on Level 2 that says to me there isn't a lot of growing room in the pre-programmed games. We have since added a few of the game cartridges to her system and she quickly found a favourite in the Finding Nemo game so much that she seems to have mostly abandoned her favorite "Scout's house" game in favour of popping bubbles with Nemo.

My granddaughter absolutely adores her ClickStart and asks to play with this often. It can keep her attention for 30 minutes or longer though she requires parental assistance and cannot operate this by herself. Her biggest problem seems to be finding a position in which to sit with the keyboard balanced and in such a way that she can control the mouse. More often than not the keyboard starts on her lap but then moves to the floor and the mouse is left on the side (connected by the cord). The mouse is the right size for her little hands but she struggles with the very slippery and very small mousepad and often requires help when needing to make a mouse selection.

Often the mouse gets flipped upside down or side-ways and she gets annoyed by that, needing parental intervention. For the games that require a lot of mousing it works best to sit right beside her or have her on our lap because otherwise she gets frustrated by it. I do think that LeapFrog should re-visit the ClickStart mouse which works for the most part, but needs some fine-tuning.

Aside from the tricky mouse my only real problem with ClickStart is that it eats batteries.

You can purchase an A/C adaptor separately for the console but the keyboard is cordless and seems to be the bigger battery eater of the two components. This is largely to do with the fact that there is no on/off switch on the keyboard and any time that it is a moved or jostled it turns on (the mouse glows to show for it). It will go to sleep and turn off after so many minutes but the whole time it is on it's eating away at those double "AA"s. After just over a week's worth of play and abuse (carrying it around, etc we had to change the keyboard batteries out.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the ClickStart system. ClickStart not only seems more educational because it has a keyboard, I find it way more age appropriate. I definitely recommend ClickStart for your 2-4 year old as an intro TV/gaming system and preschool-friendly computer of their own.
 

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