Our very first largerfamilies.com giveaway–Leapster 2 plus THREE games! 13 comments

Note: Whoops! I accidentally closed the contest more than an hour early! If you want to enter, I’ll be extending it until 9 AM tomorrow morning (Monday the 15th), Eastern time. Sorry for any inconvenience!

We’ve never done a giveaway here at Larger Families before, but hey–when you’ve got a lot of kids to buy holiday gifts for, every little bit helps, right?

Recently I went to a Leapfrog blogger event in Chicago, where the parent attendees got the chance to speak with an expert panel about the role of technology in kids’ lives. Here’s what I wrote on my blog about Leapfrog products, and why I like them, over at my blog: “I can see the value of having some high-quality technology in the boys’ lives. First of all, that stuff is going to be out there waiting for them at some point; whether it’s now because we bring it into our homes, or later when they discover it at a friend’s house. Or, they could do like some kids did in the 80s and live at the arcade. (Do kids still do that?) I can try to eliminate gaming from their lives on principle, but most kids are going to seek it out at some point, and I’d rather have some control over the quality and quantity they’re exposed to.

And, let’s face it: once in a while I wouldn’t mind the distraction of a half-hour of gaming so I can make a phone call in peace.”

So while I’m picky about what products I’ll plug and am especially picky about technology for kids, I’m happy to promote & give away the Leapster 2 to our larger families readers because:

• The games come in a variety of age ranges, meaning one Leapster can be shared with several siblings. In fact, the games re-adjust themselves to your child’s age or ability level, so a 5-year-old may be able to play the same game as a 7-year-old without frustration or tears
• There’s nothing scary or objectionable in the content, and at least in my family, I don’t find that the games are addictive like some of the XBox titles my kids have used (and that’s why we ended up getting rid of the X-Box!). The boys play them for a while, then put them down and go read a book or play outside. So if you’re a techy-skeptic parent like me, you may find that the Leapster 2 is a great way to introduce your kids to gaming without worrying about the darker side of video games.
• Also: a lot of parents aren’t into buying their kids branded/character content (Dora, Wall-E, Cars, whatever). I totally hear you there, and Leapfrog offers many titles that aren’t branded, so you can avoid them if that’s important to you.
• PS: If you have games from the original Leapster, they ARE compatible with Leapster 2. Now that’s nice!

Anyway, here are the contest details:

• We are giving away a Leapster 2 hand-held game system and THREE games (once we have a winner, we’ll choose the games based on your children’s ages & interests)
• The contest will run through 10 PM Eastern time on Sunday, December 14.

To enter, please do the following:

1. Write a post on your own blog about technology and parenting (some ideas: do you let your kids have a game machine or do computer games? Why or why not? Have your views of kids and tech changed as your kids have gotten older or you’ve added more of them to the family? Do you have a personal video game philosophy? Anything goes, as long as it somehow relates to technology and parenting!)
2. In your post, make sure to link back to this post. 
3. Leave a comment on this post letting us know about your entry post, with a link! (please don’t forget this step–without it, I won’t know you’ve entered!)

Do these three things by 10 PM EST Sunday night and you’ll be entered to win! We’ll choose a winner randomly and announce on Monday December 15. Leapfrog will ship the product directly to you and you’ll have it in time for Christmas.

Good luck, and thanks for entering!

Meagan Francis