Do I purchase the Leap Frog Tag Jr. or Tag Reading System for a 3 year old?

My best friend called as she was searching for a holiday gift for her nephew, who happens to be three years old. Her question: do I purchase him the Leap Frog Tag Jr. Book Pal or the Tag Reading System? Based on the age suggestions for each product, he is on the older range for the Tag Jr., but technically not old enough yet for the Tag Reading System.

Personally, I am always a proponent of purchasing toys that grow with children, but it is important to take into consideration the individual needs and skills of a particular child when trying to determine what would be the better option.

Other ideas to consider:

1. What are the child’s language skills? Are they speaking similarly to peers?

2. What is the child’s attention span like for reading books?

3. Is this a toy that you would like the child to use by themselves or will it be used typically with an adult present?

Based on the facts that her nephew reportedly has advanced language skills for his age, and has a great love of books with an excellent attention span for stories, for him we decided together to make the “leap” towards the Tag Reading System. He will most likely require a lot of adult supervision to utilize the stylus on some of the smaller command prompts present on the page, as well as to monitor his care for the pages of the book.

However, it would still be appropriate for a child of this age to buy the Tag Jr. Book Pal if the purchaser is looking for a toy the child will be able to manipulate independently, with board type books that are a bit more durable for independent use at such a young age. In an instance where the child may be language delayed or who has a short attention span for books, the Tag Jr. Book Pal may prove to be a better option.

Coupon from Leap Frog for $5 off a Tag Jr. and $10 off a Tag Reading System