mmcphee's Full Review: Kidzmouse Rugrats (KM008-02) Mouse
When our children received a computer for Christmas, Bugs, our 4 year old, was already a mouse expert. At 2 1/2 her little sister, Buttercup, was just learning how to use a mouse and was quite frustrated, which led to tantrums. So I went searching for something, anything that would stop the fits. What I ended up purchasing was the KidzMouse Rugrats Mouse.
The Basics
KidzMouse is a computer mouse designed for children ages 2-10. It is slightly narrower than a standard mouse and about 2/3 the length. It is a roller ball mouse with two buttons. The buttons extend around the sides of the mouse so children can either click or squeeze the buttons. The Rugrats mouse features a picture of the character, Tommy, but a variety of Disney, Nickelodeon and generic themes are available.
The mouse works on PC or Mac with a USB or PC with a PS/2 port and the adapter is included. KidzMouse works on Windows 98 SE, Me, 2000, XP Mac OS 9.1 and OS X. The mouse is plug and play, no software is required, but you can download an optional driver so the mouse operates as a single button pointer.
Our Experience
When our mouse arrived I unplugged our old mouse and put our KidzMouse in our PS/2 port. I turned on the computer and we were ready to go. The mouse is noticeably smaller but not uncomfortably so, even for my large hands. While you can have two mouse hooked up to the computer at the same time, this computer is only for the kids so don’t really have the need for a standard size mouse too. For the brief time either my husband or I need to use the mouse the KidzMouse is fine.
Our 4 year old gave the new mouse a look-warm reception. Although she is familiar with the characters Rugrats is not a show she is allowed to watch. So she proceeded to argue with me about my choice of character, just for the sake of arguing. Honestly, Rugrats was probably my last choice of all of the characters available from KidzMouse. It was however, the cheapest option. Since I was unsure if this mouse would solve our problem I wasn’t interested in spending a lot of money. The manufacturer’s suggested price is $25-$30 depending on the design, but they are readily available in the $12-$15, while this Rugrats version was a mere $6.50 from Nothing but Software. For that price I didn’t care if it didn’t work. Eventually Bugs got over it and she seems happy with the mouse. She uses it just as she did the regular mouse, but she does seem to have better control over the mouse movements due to the better fit with her hand.
Of course the true test was our 2 1/2 year old. It was a rousing success. This mouse is a great fit for her hand. As predicated by KidzMouse she does indeed squeeze the mouse instead of making a distinctive clicking motion on buttons. Suddenly instead of screeching at the computer because it won’t respond to her moves she is enjoying the age appropriate education games we have for her. While many of the games do not require her to click, the smaller sized mouse is much easier for her to maneuver. And on the games where she does need to click is finally able to do it with repeatability. Her frustration level with the computer has dropped dramatically. And finally, she is not at all put off by the “baby” on the mouse.
Final Thoughts
Everyone is happy with our new KidzMouse. Now that I know how well it works I will probably upgrade to one their optical mouse designs, with a more familiar character. My 4 year old already has her eye on the glowing firefly version. If your children use the computer I highly recommend this appropriate sized and designed mouse.
Our product has been designed just for kids and tested by kids between the ages of 2 to 10. Easy to use, small, and comfortable for little hands, Kidz...More at eBay
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