JumpStart Toddlers and My Learning Scrapbook

Jump Start Toddlers is basically a good program - the graphics, sound and content are entertaining and kept my sons attention. However, the program is more geared towards "watching and learning" than it is interaction. I would describe Jump Start Toddlers as more of a "video" than an interactive game. Most, if not all, of the activities require significant involvement on my part. The "pointer" is a small white/yellow feather that is difficult to see at times and you really never know which end of the feather to point at the action you want to click on. In addition, once in the program, I had a hard time figuring out what to do next. All of this means the parent must "play" the game while the child watches (for the most part). I would think an older child (3 to 4 years) would get more out of this title.

I would highly recommend Reader Rabbit for Baby and Toddler over this title hands down!

On a positive note, the program installed in minutes (Windows 2000 Pro), I have had no problems using the program and it is certainly educational.


Not As Good As Jump Start's Other Products   March 2, 2002
Joy D Blackburn (Colorado Springs, CO United States)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

Most of the games/activities are much less stimulating than those of Jump Start's 18mo to 3yr-old version. In fact, some of them are so simple and shallow that it's hard to believe there isn't more to them that is inaccessible somehow due to a programming flaw. The butterfly selector is confusing and requires adult assistance. The program comes with two levels of play, and the level selector pops up anytime the mouse nears the bottom of the screen. This is bad because many of the child's activity zones are also located at the bottom of the screen. This means the level selector gets launched inadvertently every few minutes. The selector then covers up the section of the screen that the child is playing with. In addition, the level selector doesn't work according to the steps laid out in the directions. My husband and I are both multimedia developers and neither of us can figure this selector out. Our son enjoys 2 of the 6 activities, so I feel we got somewhat of our money's-worth. But I probably wouldn't purchase it again. My recommendation: stick with the Jump Start program for 18mo to 3yr olds.


Somewhat disappointed   February 28, 2002
Massachusetts Mom
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

We bought this for our 2 year old daughter for her birthday as she had been expressing interest in using the "puter". This program is easy to install and run however we are somewhat disappointed that it isn't easier for our daughter to use on her own. The feather that is used as the pointer is small and somewhat difficult to follow and it isn't always clear what the activites require you to do. Our daughter does ask quite often to play with this, however, she usually ends up watching mommy or daddy as we need to move the mouse for her to get from one activity to the next. Additionally, the sound often skips (especially in the ABCs) although I don't really think that our daughter notices. It does offer a great range of activities, but given that it is marketed to 18 months and up, we feel the navigation could be made a lot better.


LOVE IT!   December 18, 2001
APIMom1999 (Memphis, Tn United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

My son (2 yrs) really enjoys spending time with this software. He has used for about 2 months, and now knows 1-10 numbers and most of the letters. He almost has the shapes down and LOVES, let me repeat, LOVES the musical element in the waterfall. The scrap book is TOTALLY COOL. This is a DEFINATE great place to start kids on computers. We have the Disney Pooh for preschoolers and he prefers JumpStart hands down.