Remember the LeapPad? A phenomenal hit in 1999, it rocketed to the top becoming the number one seller, a rarity for an educational toy. Now its maker, LeapFrog, is back with what it hopes will be the next big thing: the Tag Reader.
Unveiled last week, the New York Times got the scoop. The Tag, targeted at 4-8 year olds, is a stylus designed to read words on the pages of an 18 volume collection of books (including favorites like Olivia). If a child gets stuck on a word, they can tap it to have it read aloud or defined. They can also tap a character's image to hear them come alive with sound.
The initial outlay of $50 isn't too steep, but the Tag only comes with one book. Additional books will cost around $14. Once a book is purchased, parents will have to download the digital portion from the company's website where they will be invited to create a webpage for their child and also have the ability to view statistics about their child's use of the books - what they read, what they had difficulty with, etc.
You can read the full article from the Times here. There's a lot of buzz and expectation building around the Tag within the industry, but what do you think - is this a product worth getting excited about?
(By the way, if you still have a LeapPad lying around, now's your chance to pick up additional books for it for a bargain - they're currently 70% off on LeapFrog's website undoubtedly to make way for the new Tag Reading System.)
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Comments (5)
Is this for parents who are inconvenienced by reading with their children?
Missuswayne, I suppose that it could be; however, in the case of my nephew it allowed him the independence to "read" on his own before he could really read. In my book, anything that teaches kids that reading independently is fun, is a good tool.
I totally do not get the leapfrog phenomonen. Why do kids need gadgets to be convinced that reading is fun? Reading is fun because it's instantly rewarding, it leads you through a story, it introduces you to interesting characters and experiences, it teaches you new information, it feeds your imagination, it makes you laugh and cry and feel all kinds of things... If this is not happening, then your parents are buying you crappy books, and no gadgetry will change that.
My 4 year old "reads" on his own in the same way my sister and I did when we were his age, and the way I'm sure countless pre-Leapfrog children did before us... by flipping through the book, looking at the pictures, and telling stories about them. But there's no money to be made from that.
And the idea of creating a webpage so I can keep statistics on my child's reading... what??? Doesn't anyone have a conversation with their kids anymore?
mjoe - I don't get it either... we read to my 3.5 year old often, and he also enjoys reading on his own. My in-laws continually buy him Leapfrog (and other brands... Vtech is one that comes to mind) gizmos that are basically cleverly marketed, battery-powered, talking "books". Most of these have either been returned to the store or are collecting dust in our basement. He'd much rather read a regular old book.
Agreed with the other commenters. At the early intervention program where I'm a clinician (we serve children 0-3 who have developmental delays and/or are at risk for developmental delays), we recommend that children be given a minimum of toys with batteries, if any at all. At the center where we do playgroups, the only battery toys we have are things like flashlights and CD players.
The reason is that the most important part of a child's development is learning to interact with others. Social and emotional development is far more important than any technical skills that a child may (or may not...) learn from an electronic gadget. I'm saddened when I meet 2.5-year-olds who can press various combinations of buttons on their Leapfrog toy to get the desired response of beeps and lights, but aren't yet using single words to request things from adults, and don't understand the concept of pretend play.
It's normal and natural for a pre-reader or early reader to make up his/her own story about the pictures in the book, pretend to read using gibberish sounds, or make up a substitute word for the unknown word. Or, if the kid is really interested in finding out the exact correct word (rather than being interested in self-stimming through hearing a pen talk), the child can go ask an adult. Being able to pretend, being creative and flexible, and learning to seek help and ask questions are MUCH more important life skills than being able to read independently (which is a skill most kids eventually gain anyway without owning any talking pens).