If you are a parent "of a certain age", you may find yourself saying things like "I remember when...". One of the things I remember is the first time I saw the internet, and even back to middle school when I first worked on a computer. Our kids on the other hand will just be raised with this stuff. And while we believe it is important for our kids to get outside and run around, it is equally important for them to be comfortable with all kinds of technology.
That's why we are fans of our sponsor, VTech, and products like the V.Reader. Our five year-old daughter has been playing with the V.Reader for a while now, and is doing great with it. As a reviewer, I just open the box, put in the batteries and hand it to her to see how that goes. With the V.Reader, she was able to enter her name and follow the instructions and get going. At first, just entering a new welcome message was fun for her, but she quickly moved on to the stories and games.
We started with Disney's Fairies game and I let her go to it. I was pleased to see her ignoring the television her big brother was watching as she played the games and listened to the story. I checked in as she was playing a reading comprehension game and was pleased to see her know all the answers right off the bat. The story had engaged her that much.
Like many of VTech Kids products, there is an online element called the "Learning Lodge". It is a free online tool that offers downloadable books, games, customized themes and avatars. Currently, users have access to six free e-Books (worth $30). Additionally, Learning Lodge allows parents to track their children’s achievement through a customized Progress Log which provides parents with an overview of how their child is progressing through key learning curriculum, all of which are age-appropriate. Online registration is easy and can be accessed by visiting: www.vtechkids.com/download.
It's pretty easy for us to recommend the V.Reader, as our daughter loves it and it's won a number of awards including Dr. Toy Best Vacation Product, National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval for 2010, Creative Child 2010 Product of the Year Award and Parents Magazine Best Toys 2010. For details on the V.Reader, visit their site, VTechKids.com.
