Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Eye Toy-type games get preschoolers moving.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
Playskool's ION EDUCATIONAL GAMING SYSTEM for children ages 4 to 7 taps into youngsters' natural desire to move by designing games where kids dance with characters from Blues Clues, play soccer goalie with Dora the Explorer, and cook with SpongeBob SquarePants. In addition to encouraging children to sway, wave, squat, dance, and bend to control what happens on the screen of these video games, kids will be learning about colors, numbers, and letters and following directions.
Is It Any Good?
From the kids' perspective, what's so incredible about this system is that it makes them television stars. They aren't just playing the game -- they're IN the game as well.
When kids stand in front of their TV, not only will they see characters that they love (Dora, Blue, SpongeBob, and others), they will see themselves on the screen inside the video game. For example, in a game with Dora, your child's image will appear inside of a soccer goal. To save goals, your child will need to move his or her hands to various spots inside the goal. While it takes a few tries before kids figure out how moving their hands in the real world transfers to blocking goals inside the game, most learn very quickly.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how it feels to see yourself inside the TV. Because there are many kinds of games that involve movement, what kind does your child like best? Dancing? Moving through mazes? Cooking? Soccer? Families might want to talk about how important it is to exercise.
Game Details
- Platform : ION Educational Gaming System
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Playskool
- Release date : October 28, 2006
- Genre : Preschool
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
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