DS Games for Pre-readers? 256
ProfJonathan writes "My daughter just got a DS from the grandparents for her 6th birthday. She's only beginning to read, but wants a bunch of games of her own rather than just playing her older brothers' games. She got Nintendogs with the DS, so that's taken care of, but other relatives are asking what she might want. Can anyone recommend some good DS games that don't require reading skill, that might be age-appropriate and interesting for a 1st grade girl?" Wouldn't it be creepy if the kid had a really good brain age?
Some Ideas (Score:5, Informative)
Diddy Kong Racing [amazon.com]
Yoshi's Island [amazon.com]
Super Princess Peach [amazon.com]
Kirby Squeak Squad [amazon.com]
Lego Star Wars [amazon.com]
Strawberry Shortcake [amazon.com]
Smart Girls Playhouse [amazon.com]
I know my 4 year old son loves Mario Kart. Lego Star Wars is his other favorite. That has a lot to do with how much he likes the films also. So if your child isn't familiar with the movies, or doesn't care for them, it would make a big difference of course.
Based on my own daughters - I would also recommend Animal Crossing [amazon.com]. Now this involves reading, but that's not bad. It's really going to encourage and motivate her so that she can play. The ideas are pretty much what you get with the whole webkinz rage - and I know my 6 year old and 7 year old girls are totally into that. There so many more ds titles she would probably really enjoy it isn't even funny. Barbie stuff, Disney Princess stuff, etc.
Does she like Princesses? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Lego Star Wars on DS--meh. (Score:4, Informative)
Those are good suggestions (Score:3, Informative)
As the parent of a 5yo daughter, I definitely agree with games mentioned in the parent post. Super Princess Peach is probably the best in that group (in my opinion), because it strikes a good balance of being easy for kids to control while still being very fun to play. It also encourages thinking skills -- you can use elemental tools such as fire to melt ice obstacles, water to douse fires, etc.
I also agree that it's okay for games to have words, even if the child cannot yet read them. My daughter is just learning to read "the right way" with phonetics, yet can recognize dozens (maybe hundreds) of words because I've read them to her and she's memorized the combination of letters.
Oh, and that's another good point. Playing these games with your kid is important *and* fun. Read the dialogs to her, help her when she's stuck, play co-op, whatever. It turns an otherwise isolated activity into family bonding.