Brooke wants a pixter

[Dad2Brooke]

Among the many things that Brooke wants for Christmas this year (the list of things she doesn't want is shorter than the one of those she does) is a pixter.

Does anyone have one of these? My main question besides are they educational (with the right software pack) is are they built to survive an ADHD child.

She has had a personal CD player for about 6 months and it still survives.

Please let me know your thoughts and any "titles" that may be good for her.

Thanks,

[savvymom1]

Hi Dad2Brooke. My 9 year old dd has been wanting one too. I haven't priced one (I was in a hurry when she was trying to show me). I guess it will hold up fairly well. It's the losing it I worry about. She is creative and will probably love it.

[Dad2Brooke]

savvymom1, yeah, I think the main reason she wants it is because she can draw with it. That and there is a Barbie version.

I think they are around $35.

[GSDMommy]

Hey D2B:

I was wondering what a pixter was when I went to Toys R Us' website. Two reviews said it was very poor durability because of the type of toy it is. I apparently uses the touch screen technology and it won't stand up to the age range they are targetting. It starts to ignore the pen then self-generate a random screen. You may want to see if anyone else has one and what they think......the reviews don't look good for durability.

I love the leappad, they have a quantum one with all sorts of titles and it is getting bigger every day. I bought one for my then-two year old and it survived him for two years. His recent one <I bought another one> has lasted beautifully. He is reading now <found this out yesterday in the pharmacy when he was picking out greeting cards and reading them to me> at 4 years old. So, this toy has a good lifepsan, although it may not do what Brooke wants it to......Just a thought.....Sorry if I step on toes here!!

[mom2tj]

I bought one last year DS asked for one, but I returned it... I found it pricy for what you get and you have to keep buying cartrages... all it accualy does is make pictures.... the games are not that good and what they call learning was abc's.... they make it sound so much fun on TV but make sure to check it out yourself I bought it at toys'r'us tried it out without DS knowing and then brought it back....and bought the leappad instead and he loved it never complained about not getting the pixter...

they may have changed them since last year so dont take only my input on it.

p.s. 35.00 ...think higher I think more like 50.00 and then add cartrages...

[MomA]

My 6 yo bought one last year. I wouldn't have paid the price, but he picked it out and spent his own extra Christmas money. Couldn't argue with that.

We've never purchased the game cartridges, and he's happy just drawing and watching his pictures move.

Toys in our house are thrown on the floor, used as stepstools, turned into building blocks and manipulated to fit other games only my son can think of. It hasn't broken yet, for what it's worth.

[MommaToFive]

I also have not heard great things about the pixter... I have a friend who got one for her dd4, and quickly took it back. She also said it wasn't worth what she paid for it. Just FYI~~ she replaced it with a leappad and is quite satisfied with it. I have heard wonderful things about the Leappad. I am getting my ds9 a leappad this year... We are beginning to homeschool and I think this will be a nice extra tool to have around. If you do get a pixter, let us know what your take is on it... Hope this helps!

Erin

[Dad2Brooke]

I may have to rethink this Pixter thing.

I would like it to be educational. But as I type I am thinking, why can't she have a toy that is just purely fun? She loves to draw and that is what it does best. She always wanted to play with my Palm Pilot, because she could doodle on it. But now I have a Blackberry, so no more doodling.

I have been looking for one since GSDMommy mentioned Toys "R" Us. (Why didn't I think of that : But it looks like most online retailers are out of stock. Little did I know it was the must have toy of the season.

Thanks for everybody's input.

[eaccae]

DD (4) got one last year for Christmas. I fit can survive her it can survive anything!! She got it mainly so she could have something to do when DS (7) was playing with his gameboy. Well - turns out they BOTH loved it. And what I thought I was getting to diffuse fights - created new ones. Sometimes you just can't win.

Anyway - we never had the cartridges (Santa is bringing one this year) and they both still loved it. There is a new color one out which looks pretty cool. And the cartridges - even just one - would make it really fun. They even have a music one. I think they are great. But I think for Brooke's age - you might want to get one cartridge too.

Even if they are sold out - they probably still have the demo so you can take a look.

[mommy007]

My child received one last Christmas, it held up fine - still working and she loved playing with it - she wants the new color one this year.

[Dad2Brooke]

UPDATE

Thanks for the feedback from everyone. I did look at LeapPads, but I couldn't find on that you can draw on. That is what she primarily wants this toy for.

Few things I found out about each model.

Barbie Pixter 39.99 at Toys "R" US and Amazon.
Revamped Pixter 2.0 with Barbie theme and graphics. Actually played with one in the store today at TRU. It has a black and white screen. Not color. Can buy a light for it. Plays black and white games. Can save 20 pictures, can beam them to friends with another Pixter 2.0 unit. No head phone jack.

Pixter 2.0 39.99 at TRU and Amazon
Same as above without the Barbie stuff.

Pixter Color 88.01 tax and shipping included at Walmart.com
Color, better graphics, more memory, bigger screen, built in light (I think), head phone jack, plays color games, save pictures, beam to friends.

Guess which one I bought Brooke? Yep, the Pixter Color. I guess I'm a softie when it comes to Brooke.
I also bought a Barbie Fashion Show pak from Amazon.com for $24.

If anyone is planning to get one of these things, start looking now, they are pretty hard to find. Lots of places are sold out of the units and the paks.

[eaccae]

Oh is Brooke going to have fun!!! Glad you found it! I think you will find that she will use this for hours on end!

[susanthemom]

Hi,
We've had a pixter and a leappad for over a year now. The pixter is just now begining to get glitchy, the pixel alignment is off after being dropped for the umpteenth time. The leappad didn't fare as well, but was much loved. It's having pen cord issues, slight tear in the plastic coating which has messed up the wiring inside. This year leappad is offering a pixter-like product for an extra $40, which puts it's price at $79.99, I think. It's in color, shaped similarly to the pixter, offers educational cartridges, etc. We're totally skipping the electronic aisle this year, because I'm on battery burn-out and I find the extra cartridges limited in info and fun for the cost output. They get much more out of their computer, even though it can't go in the car. Hope this helps. Susan

[lovemyson]

Our Pixter and Leap pad have also survived DS 6 yo ADHD, The Pixter a little better than the Leap pad but with the leap pad it is the pen cord that is wearing out, I don't believe this has anything to do with DS

[Jenn]

Guess I am lucky. Kat wants that Rose Art Black Light Desk thing. MIL got a TV today which we have to pay her back for and we are going to get a DVD so I can watch TV and they can be in the livingroom instead of our room watching movies. And who knows since the Game Cube has come down in price they may get one of those than some clothes instead of all the junk they usually get.