We have a five-year-old and a three-year-old and would like to get a digital piano. For the price, the Casio AP 200 looks like a decent buy (and it will fit in with our decor). Is this a good starter piano?

You could do better. Look at the list at the bottom of this thread (link).

Edit: Look for the Casio AP-620 <- link.

Thank you!

IMO, kids of that age won't need the arranger capabilities of the AP 620. Maybe a few more tones, but not the full arranger of the 620.
I would suggest, that if you have a tight budget, do look for the Casios, some cheaper ones tho, or the Korg Sp 250, but for that money, I'd much rather get a nice Roland or Yamaha, like maybe the HP 201 or CLP320.
If several tones are important, you could get the F110, which has a lighter keayboard, and several hundred instrument tones.
It also costs quite a bit less.
If money isn't a problem at all, I'd look for the HP 203 or Yamaha CLP 330, whichever you'd find better. Also, you should try the Kawai CA series, which has the wooden AWA grand pro keyboard.

Depends on what exactly you need, really...

Also, you should deffinatelly take your kids to a store and let them play some instruments, if they are able to. They should tell you what they like and what they don't...

Thanks for the feedback. This is overwhelming and I'm grateful for your assistance.

The top of my range is about $1000. I want a console piano because this will be in our living room.

I am going to visit our Guitar Center tomorrow. In our price range, it looks like they carry the Yamaha YDP-140, the M-Audio DCP 200 and the Casio AP 400. Are these reasonable choices?

The good news here is that my children won't know the difference and if they show any aptitude, we will be afford to upgrade in a few years.

The yamahas are better quality than the casios. If you go to music123 (site that is) and type in the coupon code CCABIN it brings the price of the YDP140 down to $839 total and that includes some sennheiser headphones. You could use the same code for any Yamaha, the 160 etc. (I think Casios are excluded from this particular code; sometimes it's the other way around.)

The YDP160 does have the next grade up of weighted action plus 20w per channel compared to 6w per channel with the 140. It would be 1079 with the 20% off on that coupon code. I'd suggest going with that one over the 140.

Thank you! I can swing this. I am thrilled that my girls are going to be able to play.

Just bear in mind that Limavady has an anti-Casio thing going on. I've had a Casio AP-45 console for over two years and still love it.

Don't take any body's advice lock, stock and barrel. Try them yourself.

Tracy B,
I believe that the Casio AP-500 is worth a look. Unfortunately it is in a $1200-1300 range, but I'd be hard pressed, if Yamaha YDB (140 especially) is even close to the sound or keyboard quality of this one. I was going through exact same issue a few years back, and while I took an entirely different approach and spend well over $2k on a Kawai, I was close then to purchasing the YDP 140 ( which electronically is a cabinet version of their P140) and also Casio AP45. I was then worried a bit about Casio durability (for new, there was hardly any difference between Yamaha and Casio, and Casio came first for me in many areas). However, Casio has considerably improved their line of DPs, while Yamaha has not. The only thing that might sway you towards a Yamaha is the resale value, as Casio still suffers from stereotyping and is likely to give you back less when you decide to upgrade.