Play is still the thing

We've got some good news and some more good news for toy makers and retailers—for a change! The conviction that toys are important to childhood is on the upswing. This assurance comes straight from the caregivers and parents of today's generation of kids ages 0-12. Not only do the greater majority of parents and caregivers believe that toys were important in their own childhood, they believe, by an even wider margin, that toys are important to the kids living under their guidance and supervision.

In December, PLAYTHINGS launched a massive consumer survey to determine the influence of toys on the quality of childhood from several perspectives. Nearly 6,000 responses were received from consumers throughout the United States, with almost 1,000 that came separately from European consumers. The survey was conducted jointly with Reed Research Group, a sibling of Reed Business Information, which is also the parent company of PLAYTHINGS magazine.

Introduced in December's Toy Stories: 100 Years of Fun—which commemorated PLAYTHINGS' Centennial—the survey was presented online as well as at Playthings.com, where respondents could reply directly. The survey was promoted online for two months.

Interestingly, the ratio of U.S. respondents was 55 percent male to 45 percent female, giving rise to a whole plethora of possibilities marketers may want to consider: Today's dads may have more input into toy-buying and child-rearing than traditionally and historically thought.

One aspect that apparently has remained consistent through the years, however, is what constitutes a favorite toy. According to 33 percent of survey respondents, their own favorite childhood toy enabled the 'player' to be creative, use his or her imagination and it afforded "endless possibilities."

The complete and comprehensive PLAYTHINGS consumer toy survey will be on sale later this month at Playthings.com.