Sunday, June 8, 2008

Leapster L-Max Some Points to Consider

Leapster L-Max Learning Game Systems:

Many parents DO recognize how both games and making time for 'play' can positively influence the lives of their children. Computer technology combined with learning games can provide some extra mental stimulation that some parents appreciate, and this is what Leapster L-Max Learning Game System provides.

However, there are a couple of points that are drawbacks.

1. Parents need to be careful of putting the 'game' forward to teach their kids and allowing this to educate children instead of parents. In other words, parent need to regulate the time their children spend on computer games, even if these are learning games.

2. Some of the games for the L-Max are not necessarily classified as 'learning games,' so parents have to be aware of which games the child is putting in the system. A few of the games are action games that might promote or evoke a certain amount of violence. With supervision, sometimes games like this are alright for children, but unsupervised activities and lengthy to exposure to some games can be detrimental to a child's learning.

In order to make smart choices about children's games and game systems, parents will need to become familiar with this gaming system. There are different types of 'L-Max' systems, as well as several kinds of games.

Different kinds of games fit into the L-Max gaming systems in the form of 'cartridges,' so that parents can be involved in selecting what kinds of material children encounter with these gaming systems.

Although the Leapfrog shop that sells these systems generally promotes the cartridges as 'learning games,' I just wanted to post and make people aware that there are some cartridges that really aren't 'learning games.'

This doesn't mean that the 'other game' cartridges are BAD - it is just something that parents might want to be aware of and monitor, in case their child or children is sensitive to violence or has particular reactions to action-games that are not within a learning frame. Or simply, a parent might just want to limit how often a child has access to the 'game' cartridges for game-play versus making the 'learning game' cartridges available at all times.