LeapFrog Community

My little girl loves library days. A themed story and craft is her ideal way to pass an hour. So, when I signed her up for two afternoons a week of preschool, I had no concerns about her focus or her academic readiness. What worried me was the image of her throwing a world-class tantrum because another child had selected the only pink bouncy ball. Beginning approximately around the age of four, children begin to develop the capacity for empathy... Read more...

Sitting independently is one of my favorite milestones. The cute little frog sit. The weeble-wobble early efforts. Suddenly your baby is ready to interact and has both hands available for play...but she cannot crawl yet. Count this as probably the last time you'll be able to blink without worrying what she's up to... Read more...

A voracious reader, I hope to share my love of literature with my kids. I've shared a little before about why we read to babies, how to read to babies, and what to read to babies but something is still missing--the passion for reading! With great pride, I cuddled my first baby during hours of reading. She loved it from the start. My boy ,on the other hand, was more of a wiggly worm than a bookworm... Read more...

Like any other parent, I have hopes and dreams for my children. I want them to have a natural curiosity and I want them to have the tools they need to investigate and explore the world around them. Just as it is important to provide a print-rich environment and promote pre-literacy skills, math literacy is an essential part of your child's intellectual development. Because I am naturally more verbal than mathematical, I constantly need to remind myself to include early math skills in our day to day activities--especially for my preschool-aged daughter... Read more...

My son starts whining: "CHOCOLATE!" Although he's already had one sugary treat today, he's clamoring for more "DIZZZERT!" The United States is in the middle of an obesity epidemic. And overweight children are more likely to be bullied, develop severe health problems, have difficulty learning, and suffer from low self-esteem. While hunger is still a huge problem for our nation's children, obesity is fast becoming a plague--one that disproportionately effects the poorest and most marginalized children but also strikes across class and regional boundaries. Read more...

No matter how organized I get the night before, I still run late everywhere. Because now, in addition to all the last minute potty visits and diapers and snacks and water bottles, I have an "independent toddler". My son wants to do everything for himself. "Me, ME!" he cries if I try to dress him... Read more...

Is preschool right for your family? Is your child ready? One mom's personal experience with this decision and some readiness signs for preschool... Read more...

Confession time: I've let my almost two year old play with my iPhone to keep him calm while waiting in line. And I've downloaded a few educational games for my almost four year old daughter. Although I completely agree that learning to wait patiently is an important life skill, there are times when our society is just not set up for small children, or I did not or could not plan ahead, or the crayons and books are just not working. As a fan of LeapFrog, I've been watching with interest the conversation unfold on Facebook about My Own LeapTop, a pretend play laptop / notebook computer for ages two and up... Read more...

I never thought that boys and girls were exactly the same but I was still surprised at how differently my baby boy and his older sister seemed to experience the world right from the beginning. Admittedly, an anecdotal sample size of two is not exactly scientific but real studies by actual researchers have shown that male and female infants show distinct learning patterns right from the start... Read more...

We recently took a six day road trip with our one and a half year old and three and a half year old. Before we left, we did what every modern parent does and sought advice from the Internet. Besides looking for local attractions and planning our routes online, we also went hunting for tips on how to keep two young children from driving themselves, each other, and us absolutely insane. Did I mention that I do not have a DVD player in the car? Read more...