The best gaming system to grow with a 5 yr old girl?

Hello friends, what you think about video game system for 5 yr old girl?
I am not sure if I will be getting her one or not but I am considering the options out there. In the long run, what particular system would be the best to grow with and that might even multitask. Keep in mind, she is 5 and will be playing the children's games for quite a while so there needs to be a decent selection of the kid games.
Thanks.
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Replies

  • Cher2686
    Cher2686 Posts: 94 Member
    Leap pad has some good learning systems that you can look into (Leap pad, V motion) but If you are thinking of the major kinds I like the DS (not the 3D cuz its bad for childrens eyes) or the WII (which is good for motor skills as fun) Those two seem to have more young girl or any childrens games
  • haleighallen
    haleighallen Posts: 209 Member
    Why not get her a dollhouse or a new bike instead? My younger brother started playing video games young and grew to LITERALLY be addicted to them. Now, he is ENTIRELY sedentary, 5'11" and over 350lbs. He is also only 18 years old! My personal opinion....start her being physically active at a young age while she's still impressionable. You can help teach her to actually ENJOY and CHOOSE a healthy and active lifestyle. Just my 2 cents :flowerforyou:
  • Cher2686
    Cher2686 Posts: 94 Member
    Games can be educational and a good reward. You just have to find out the sweet spot of how much and how long. My son has 3 gaming systems at the age of 7 but he uses them a total of 2-3 hrs a week at best and almost all the games he has is for cognitive learning or motor skills.
  • Krizzle4Rizzle
    Krizzle4Rizzle Posts: 2,704 Member
    I would say Wii.
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
    I would say Wii.
    I agree.

    AND OMG CUTE DOG!
  • AnisaMG
    AnisaMG Posts: 154 Member
    If you are thinking about something from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo, I would try to hold out for another year or so as I am expecting that they will all be releasing new platforms.
  • LadyIvysMom
    LadyIvysMom Posts: 391 Member
    My nieces (5 & 7) have had a Wii for a while and they really love playing the sports type games (Wii bowling etc.) and music games (Karaoke & dance games). They are GOOD at these things too. They routinely beat me and my brother (their dad) at them haha. I think Wii also has some Disney games and of course, the Mario games. So plenty of kid friendly choices and the remotes are easy to use.
  • SorchaRavenlock
    SorchaRavenlock Posts: 220 Member
    If you are thinking about something from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo, I would try to hold out for another year or so as I am expecting that they will all be releasing new platforms.

    True, but that also means that right now every console has a large library to chose from, most of them have had several hardware revisions that make the consoles better, and they've dropped in price.
    I wouldn't be an early adopter just for a 5 year old to be honest.

    Taking in account the games available, I'd say the DS (handheld) or the Wii. Both have a large variety of child friendly/family games out there.
    As long as you monitor what she plays (preferably play with her, it's great family time) and make sure you limit her game time I don't see a problem with it.
  • xxcandywrathxx
    xxcandywrathxx Posts: 200 Member
    definitely a Wii. Best console for people with short attention spans. plus she can make her own character and play sport!
  • Don't know if this would fit into the criteria you are following but i have a 4 year old son. He'll be 5 in January. Anyway, when he does play a gaming system he uses his Leapfrog Leapster Explorer. It's pretty inexpensive and has several educational games. In fact, as for games, he only plays educational ones. Another plus, it's portable. He can bring it anywhere. Good luck with your search.
  • DamnImASexyBitch
    DamnImASexyBitch Posts: 740 Member
    We have all three of the popular systems ( Wii, Playstation 2, Xbox 360 ... yeah I have a husband who loves gaming ). Get the Xbox 360 with the Kinect. You will NOT be disappointed. My kids ( girls ages 7 & 11 ) LOVE it! There are so many fun games, and they are the controller themselves so no need for anything else. If you want game reccomendations just message me!
  • DamnImASexyBitch
    DamnImASexyBitch Posts: 740 Member
    And I think Wii sucks honestly. The ONLY reason to get Wii is if she is into Mario Bros because they have the copyrighted trademark on that. Otherwise every game is available in other systems, and Wii's graphics are horrible, more pixilated, and not as fluid. Plus she will have to continually hold onto the controller to play. The new WiiU is supposed to be better, but it's still not as nice as the Xbox360 or Playstation 2. For the price difference go with the Xbox 360 seriously.

    If you were thinking more along the lines of hand held... we have again 3DS, PS Vita & a leapster explorer. They each have their pros and cons. My 7 yr old is almost outgrown alot of the leapster games ( simply by beating them and getting bored ). Vita is too expensive and mature for her ( other than lil big planet... she loves that ). The 3ds is awesome though.
  • rae_rae330
    rae_rae330 Posts: 39 Member
    i would suggest a XBox 360 with Kinect. She will still be playing video games, but the Kinect games are active play vs the typical sit on ur rump with a controller in ur hand. Aside from all the different dance games (which i've seen a lot of members on here use...u can really get a decent workout playing them) there are a bunch of kid friendly games too, a couple of sesame street, Harry Potter, Kinectimals, Nickelodeon Dance, Disney-Pixar Adventure, a Sponge Bob game, Ice Age and others.
  • ritasice21
    ritasice21 Posts: 200 Member
    Like most others, I say Wii. We did not let me daughter have a game system until she was 10, but I wish we had gotten in sooner. I was in the mindset of the old atari where you sit on your butt and exercise your thumbs and we did not like that idea. Not so, wii is easy to catch onto and the games are really cheap. Wii sports, just dance, etc are great exercise.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I'd recommend Nintendo DS. You can get a DS Lite for around 100 bucks. Tons of games for it, although now they're mainly making 3DS games.
  • FabMrFox
    FabMrFox Posts: 259 Member
    I recomend the ...Outdoors and imagination
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Atari!!!! Oh wait...nevermind. My daughter is 8 now, we got the Wii when she was about 5, and she has played with it a lot over the years...lots of sports stuff, and Hello Kitty, and dance games, and now she's starting to play sports stuff again - it just has a lot of potential and they aren't even that pricey if you get a used on these days. Also, she loves her older brother's old gameboy and has for several years. I bought her a pink one on ebay for $5 several years ago so she would have her own and she plays pokemon and scooby doo and whatever. It was super cheap and the darn thing is practically indestructible. 5 and delicate electronics do not mix well, whatever you get make sure it can handle being dropped 100 times a day.
  • Super Nintendo


    ...but I guess a Wii makes more sense....
  • Dub_D
    Dub_D Posts: 1,760 Member
    I got my daughter a Leapster Explorer for Christmas last year, she loves it! She still plays with it at least 3 times a week (at first it was for hours a day). All of their games are educational too and you can buy them for a huge variety of age ranges.

    She is almost 5 btw.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Super Nintendo


    ...but I guess a Wii makes more sense....

    With their downloadable games, it's like your wii comes with a super nintendo!
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
    I think the DS makes the transition from child to teenager to adult most gracefully, but the Wii is also a good contender.
  • Leapster Explorer for sure. But if you're looking for a game system, she would definitely benefit from the Wii. I have a 4 year old and a 3 year old that's been using ours for 2 years. We have a WiiFit board with Nick Jr Fit game (just like the adult version of WiiFit or Wii sports) and Just Dance Kids. Which my kids love. It's easy to use because all they do is jump around.
  • Definitely get her a wii!
  • sizzle92
    sizzle92 Posts: 1,015 Member
    Wii
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    The great outdoors....
  • T34418l3angel
    T34418l3angel Posts: 474 Member
    i would suggest a XBox 360 with Kinect. She will still be playing video games, but the Kinect games are active play vs the typical sit on ur rump with a controller in ur hand. Aside from all the different dance games (which i've seen a lot of members on here use...u can really get a decent workout playing them) there are a bunch of kid friendly games too, a couple of sesame street, Harry Potter, Kinectimals, Nickelodeon Dance, Disney-Pixar Adventure, a Sponge Bob game, Ice Age and others.

    This! My girls aren't really into video games but we got them the Kinect with a few dance and sportsgames and they love it! I still limit them to 30 minutes of play and only on the weekends, but it is something to keep them moving when they are "sooooooo bored".
  • nanainkent
    nanainkent Posts: 350 Member
    Please think before you get her one. I got my grandson a playstation at age 5 and I regret it so very much. He is 100% a loner who only wants to play his games, read about them and talk about them. He has no desire to be creative, to play, to make friends, he doesn't want to even think about earning a living in 2 years. He has no desire to get his own place, to learn to drive, to have a girlfriend. His only focus has been from the time he turned 7 has been video gaming. His mom used to push him out the door to make him go play, the other kids quit asking him because he didn't want to play he only wanted to talk about video games. He is 16 now and many many times we have tried to get him to stop or slow down. We took it all away and he made friends with a kid from school, we were so happy. Turns out they were at his house playing video games. We stopped letting him go there and he was like a caged animal. Pacing and figeting, whining complaining, pouting acting like a kid does when they are beyond bored. He made life miserable for us having to listen to him. I told him I would pay for any and as many activities he wanted to do including going to movies. I said I would drive him the 40 miles to town so he could do anything and I would wait in the car or at mc donald until he was ready to go. He wanted nothing but those video games. I blame myself all the time for introducing him to that game system so young. I ruined his life.I took a creative boy who used to make inventions and set elaborate traps for pretend ghosts, draw kingdoms and talk to us non stop I turned him into a kid who spends all of his time escaping reality. Please think, maybe she could wait.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
    I recomend the ...Outdoors and imagination

    This!
  • Tilran
    Tilran Posts: 627 Member
    Please think before you get her one. I got my grandson a playstation at age 5 and I regret it so very much. He is 100% a loner who only wants to play his games, read about them and talk about them. He has no desire to be creative, to play, to make friends, he doesn't want to even think about earning a living in 2 years. He has no desire to get his own place, to learn to drive, to have a girlfriend. His only focus has been from the time he turned 7 has been video gaming. His mom used to push him out the door to make him go play, the other kids quit asking him because he didn't want to play he only wanted to talk about video games. He is 16 now and many many times we have tried to get him to stop or slow down. We took it all away and he made friends with a kid from school, we were so happy. Turns out they were at his house playing video games. We stopped letting him go there and he was like a caged animal. Pacing and figeting, whining complaining, pouting acting like a kid does when they are beyond bored. He made life miserable for us having to listen to him. I told him I would pay for any and as many activities he wanted to do including going to movies. I said I would drive him the 40 miles to town so he could do anything and I would wait in the car or at mc donald until he was ready to go. He wanted nothing but those video games. I blame myself all the time for introducing him to that game system so young. I ruined his life.I took a creative boy who used to make inventions and set elaborate traps for pretend ghosts, draw kingdoms and talk to us non stop I turned him into a kid who spends all of his time escaping reality. Please think, maybe she could wait.

    I feel bad for your grandson...not because you got him the console...but because of your way of thinking. Not every person is going to be like their elders. He is still a young boy and growing into his life...and I PROMISE you, the things like not wanting to get his driver's license or a job and things like that do NOT stem from video games...that is just absurd. That is due to the way he was raised. How are the role models in his life? How is his education. I really dont want to know the answers to these as I'm not here for a debate about this...but it is more questions for you and the parents. Quit blaming video games for the way you raise your children.
  • dsmboy1991
    dsmboy1991 Posts: 194 Member
    Agree x10000. Why do they need a game system?