FairProspects Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I love the idea in the WTM of letting the kids listen to audiobooks, but I am getting completely frustrated by the details! We have a kids tape player, but I can find very few tapes to play. I can't seem to find a portable kids CD player that will play CD-RW, and if I am going the CD route I would want that feature so I can burn digital files from Librivox & others to disc. I thought about getting them some kind of MP3 player, but the only ones I can find for kids for a decent price (ie, not a $100 Ipod) will only play MP3 files and our library digital books selection uses WMA files. Grrr! It's like no one thought that someone might use these kids' digital devices to listen to books instead of music!! I would love for them to listen to some books on tape during rest time, but this is incredibly frustrating, not to mention possibly very expensive! How do your kids listen to audiobooks? Am I missing some very easy solution? (We are planning on checking out some "playaway" options from the library, but that catalog is very limited compared to the digital files selections.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Ds has a Zen MP3 player (less expensive than an Ipod), and it accepts both WMA and MP3 files. He's had it for nearly three years, and it still works very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 My 11yo is the primary audiobook listener. She has always used the stereo up until now. When both tape decks finally broke, I went to Goodwill and bought another tape deck for just $8. It cost me more to buy the cable to connect it to the speakers than it did for the tape deck. Now she listens in her room. My dh gave her his tape deck/cd player boombox, and I bought him a new cd player boombox that also hooks up to his mp3 player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahf. Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 We use his I-pod, the car stereo and a small boombox depending on our moods and what we are listening to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 (edited) My ds has a CD player (boombox type thing) in his room that plays CD-R's just fine and it is at least 15 years old. He gets one CD per night to listen to in bed. My dd has a new Hello Kitty boom box and she listens to tapes and CD-Rs on that with no problem. My mom bought it at Target for her birthday. She usually listens as she's playing in her room at some point in the day. She particularly loves the follow along books/audiobooks (like Ferdinand or The Story of Ping) that she can read along with. We also listen to audiobooks in the car. I like short stories for short trips and for longer than 45 minute trips, I put in a long chapter book like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Edited September 8, 2009 by Jumping In Puddles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlutterbyMommy Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 We listen to tapes we borrow from the library in the car. She also has a portable walkman. We keep a CD player in her playroom (Strawberry Shortcake). We purchased a cheap MP3 player at toys R Us at Christmas for her (for $10). But we really don;t use it. I often just bring my laptop into the room and listen to files. The library is a great resource for books on CD and tape for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 In the car. We have a dual player---cd and cassette---in my car and we get books on tape or cd from the library. This does mean it has to be something that *I'm* also willing to listen to, though. She also has a small mp3 player that has some material on it (she'd have more if she could find the ipod she got for Yule last year, but that's another issue). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I forgot to say in my earlier post that we do most of our listening to audio books in the car, but ds uses his Zen otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 I guess we are just behind the times. My car stereo doesn't even work and I am too cheap to fix it. Dh and I have MP3 players, but the kids don't and I'm not sure they could operate them if they did. It seems like a CD or tape player would be easier for a kid to work since they just have to push a button, but maybe that's just me. Our library has really gone to mostly digital files for audiobooks, so I'm going to see if dh can mess around with my MP3 player and load some books on there for older ds. I might look for a portable CD player for younger ds because I think he would just get frustrated with a MP3 player. Our library seems to have thrown out all the books on tape. I couldn't find any kids' books that weren't either CD or digital. Hmmm...if only technology did not keep upgrading! I am so not a techie!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 The 5yo might be able to operate an MP3 player, but definitely not the younger one. Ds got his MP3 player for his 8th birthday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaik76 Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I guess we are just behind the times. My car stereo doesn't even work and I am too cheap to fix it. Dh and I have MP3 players, but the kids don't and I'm not sure they could operate them if they did. It seems like a CD or tape player would be easier for a kid to work since they just have to push a button, but maybe that's just me. Our library has really gone to mostly digital files for audiobooks, so I'm going to see if dh can mess around with my MP3 player and load some books on there for older ds. I might look for a portable CD player for younger ds because I think he would just get frustrated with a MP3 player. Our library seems to have thrown out all the books on tape. I couldn't find any kids' books that weren't either CD or digital. Hmmm...if only technology did not keep upgrading! I am so not a techie!! You might be surprised at what your five your old is able to do...our five year old was able to use our mp3 when he was five. Now he has one that is his...it cost $30 (and I could have bought cheaper) and is even easier to use than the one we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 We use an iPod. It deals with the different formats. I just import whatever I have, MP3, WMA, whatever, and the software converts it to whatever works on the iPod. I've never met an audiobook that wouldn't go easily into the iPod. I've had it for two years and I can't imagine how I managed before it. We listen to audiobooks at bedtime, during games of Lego, when we're coloring, in the car, when we're sitting in the dentist's waiting room. It's also turned into the main music maker in our home. We have a Bose speaker/stand for it and you can't beat the sound with a stick. Love my iPod. And the OP above is right, the Zune is a less expensive devise and pretty much does the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I found that my youngest had problems with the earbud type headphones and did better with a player with speakers. For tapes: Let all of you friends with older kids know that you're looking for good tapes. Chances are that they have a lot of nice stuff that they aren't using anymore. You should also check out thrift stores. Tapes tend to go cheap because the demand is low. For cd/digital. What about putting a stereo in the kids room or play area? I think that 2.5 is ok for listening but would have trouble playing all but the simplest of players. Maybe a player like this. I think that one of the issues with cds is that they may scratch easily. Another option is to get a speaker set for your iPods and play off of those. I've seen and used Playaway a few times. I have found myself wondering if libraries are being offered better prices on these because they are harder to copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacey in MA Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 We listen in the car ALL the time. A few times a week, we have to drive 30 min. to get to this and that (church, gym class, etc.). It makes getting in the car exciting! :-) At home, we simply use a portable boom-box style CD player w/ headphones (I think it was about $40), and my daughters CD player alarm clock ($30). Sometimes we play them through the computer too (we have several, as DH's job is related). I listen to adult ones occassionally through a portable CD player we have ($30 from Target). The only thing I don't like about that is that it REALLY eats batteries. I wonder if b/c the player was so cheap, the technology they used in it wasn't as good. Or maybe they are all like that? who knows.... Our library has tons of audiobooks, and a vast inter-library loan system. So we have never been short on material. How's your library? Also, have you tried any of the services online, like audiobooks.com or something? I never have, but have always been curious if they are any good. FWIW, we haven't graduated to iPods or mp3 players yet...Makes sense as the next transition though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 (edited) We have a couple from Target that are easy to use and not costly. http://www.target.com/Portable-CD-Players-Audio-Electronics/b?ie=UTF8&node=10219161 We listen in the living room while we knit, or work around the kitchen. We also listen in the car, and my 10 yr old likes to use her headphones at night in bed. I much prefer CDs, but our players can handle both, and we lucked out when we bought our used mini van; it has both as well. I've had good luck getting recordings at second hand places, but the bulk of our audio books come from the library and through Inter-library Loan. Edited September 8, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Each of my kids has a radio with CD and tape player in their rooms. Both older kids have iPods. I subscribed to Audible for myself and only buy G rated material. My kids take out about 10 books a week on audio from the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsacco Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 You can get some low cost MP3 players at buy.com I have a sansa fuze and both kids have Ipods.... it's worth the money honestly to get an MP3 player in my opinion. Both my kids have different audiobooks on their units and I spend a lot of time downloading from librivox.org :) Then we can download library books etc. Now - with an iPod, not all libraries will have downloads compatible which stinks but they are working on it apparently. BTW - if you buy an MP3 player off amazon.com right now and sign up for audible.com for a year ($14.95/month) you get $100 off the MP3 player - if you get one under $100 it would be "free".... my son just got his new iPod touch with money he saved up by us doing that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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