Summer Reading for Non-Readers: LeapFrog Tag Junior (Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen)
There’s a fine (and not always defined) line between encouraging your kids to love books and pushing them to read. As the mother of one twin who started devouring books at 3 and another who read NOTHING until he discovered Captain Underpants at 7, I believe that teaching young kids to enjoy books, stories, and quiet time is more important than teaching them to decode words before they speak in full sentences. I was happy to discover that Leapfrog has just released Tag Junior, an aged-down version of its popular Tag reading system. Tag Junior has made thumbing through a book more play than work, and was right on target for kids ages 2 to 4.
Whether you like using technology to “read” with kids is a question for another column (let me remind you, we once all laughed at the Kindle), but happily, Tag Junior uses technology in an age-appropriate way. For starters, the “stylus” on Tag Junior is a round, grabbable, froggish-looking character. It is sized to fit in a toddler’s hand and didn’t break when I repeatedly dropped it to test. The batteries are safely housed in a double-locked case. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to unscrew and load them---a plus in my book. There’s volume control and the gizmo shuts off automatically when not in use. (Plus, plus.) The intro set comes with one sturdy cardboard book. There’s a small, but growing, library of other books to buy or download. Up to 5 fit on the stylus at one time. As with most of Leapfrog’s new products, parents can link Tag Junior to their computer and follow what skills their kids are learning with the Leapfrog Learning Path. Or they can skip the whole computer thing and just play and read with their kids. To “read,” toddlers place the stylus on the block of type on the page. The experts say this helps them associate words with reading. But it’s also fun. Unlike the more word-driven Tag designed for older kids, this junior version reads the entire passage, fully aware that most kids age 2 to 4 can’t follow a word-by-word pattern. If the child places the stylus on any other part of the page, sounds, songs, or silly questions prompt him or her to participate in the story. While it looks random, the Leapfrog folks emphasize that a preschool curriculum is carefully layered into the technology, encouraging skill building in numbers, letters, colors, shapes, and imagination. Like the best of kids’ books, Tag Junior lets kids turn the pages, look at the pictures, and “read” it together with Mom or Dad. And like the best technology, it can be customized with your kid’s name, constantly updated, and (sometimes) overused. -- Wendy Smolen
You can also see an earlier Tiny Toy Tester Review of Tag Junior here.
[Guest Blogger Wendy Smolen is co-founder of Sandbox Summit®. She has been professionally evaluating toys for over 15 years. Her three children have literally gone from crib to college proving (or dis-proving!) her theories on play.]
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