Game Review: My Own Learning Leap
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What Parents Should Know
This computerized plush toy talks to your child and even
offers voices of loved ones in the stories it tells. It is a
pretty amazing way to create a personalized learning situation
for your little one.
Common Sense Media Review
This toy is a plush green frog doll named "Leap" that has
lights and sensors underneath its soft surface. Parents
personalize their child's experience by using a special hidden
microphone to record information and special messages to their
child that are then incorporated into stories the doll tells.
For example, the toy asks you to record the name of your child,
the name of a special pet, the name of a brother or sister, the
town where the child lives, a loving message, and much more.
Mom can say part of it, Dad another, and even grandparents can
join in.
The stories are interactive because Leap stops periodically and asks the child to make decisions by squeezing one of his two hands (one marked with a red dot and the other with a yellow). Leap's alphabet shirt is touch-sensitive so Leap can play interactive learning games with children. Pushing on another part of his shirt activates more than seven songs.
Add-on cartridges are available to expand Leap's story-telling abilities and each comes with a corresponding board book. Again, parents have an opportunity to record personal messages that will be incorporated into the stories that Leap tells. The add-on cartridges cover: potty training, the arrival of a new sibling, going to bed rituals, and learning about feelings. Each cartridge is $12.99.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
