The Growing Years

TiVo it! That's one option for parents looking for educational programming for their kids. The system, which allows viewers to record up to 80 hours of programming off the television, recently unveiled a new program that lets parents choose the most age-appropriate educational programming for their children via a ratings system.

Unfortunately, for consumers, it's not always as easy as using a remote control when it comes to choosing developmentally appropriate toys, especially for the youngest kids. All the more reason for retailers to have the right developmental products organized by age. And once that's done, there's more. Recommended ages on packaging is only the start. Content, quality and play value are all key factors when consumers—especially first-time parents—take their first tentative steps into a toy store in search of playthings that they hope will give their child a crucial head start in a society where, more and more, play time's subtext is scholastic success. For the infant and juvenile product categories, offering a mix of creative, touch and feel, and tech-savvy products is bound to satisfy parents' demands for toys that are both entertaining and developmentally sound.

Today, parents are on the move, and, according to Small World Toy president Debra Fine, the one thing they want above all else is high quality. The Culver City, Calif.-based manufacturer recently signed a deal with artist Eric Carle to develop an entire line of infant product based on some of his popular children's book illustrations, including those from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The line features plush, crib activity toys and a From Head to Toe soft book for ages 3 months and older. For ages 18 months and up, Small World is offering touch-and-stack blocks, magnetic puzzle books and a six-piece A Very Buggy Sound puzzle.

“Consumers are looking for quality toys,” Fine continues. “If you look at Target, there's new product that's pricier than what you'd find at the mass merchants. In reality, parents want to go back to quality. For awhile, it was all about how many bright lights you had flashing. Now toys are more about what kids can discover. Parents are going back to basics and want kids to use their imagination.”

Julie Gwaltney, brand manager for juvenile products at Learning Curve, Oak Brook, Ill., agrees that parents want product that moves with them. “Whether working in the home or outside of the home, today's lifestyle is one of go, go, go,” she says. “Products that allow mom to keep up with her busy schedule, while giving baby or child what they need, are in high demand.”

Gwaltney says that Learning Curve's Take & Toss cups from The First Years line are inexpensive enough to toss but durable for continued use. One new product for ages 9 months and up from Learning Curve's Lamaze line is the Walk n' Roll Safari. Each character—a giraffe, a lion and a monkey—plays its own musical instrument and can be detached and played with individually.

Gwaltney also says parents want more lifestyle product as a reflection of their homes, their children's rooms and their family. “Both in terms of branded and non-branded products, consumers in general continue to make their home a reflection of themselves, their family and their lifestyle, and the nursery or child's room is no exception. Whether it's a license like Lamaze or Thomas the Tank Engine, or driven by a favorite designer or color palette, the lifestyle element continues to be a driving factor in the purchase decision,” says Gwaltney. “In terms of new patterns and color palettes, you will see brighter colors and bolder patterns emerge for the category. In addition, designer-driven/inspired looks are a growing trend, as the consumer is able to express their tastes not only in their home, but in the infant and juvenile product they purchase and display everywhere they go.”

Learning Curve works with retailers to create the appropriate displays for their store's layout and consumer base. “This ties back to the convenience factor for the parent shopper, end-consumer,” says Gwaltney. “For instance, the retailer may want to create an entire statement of a particular license, featuring everything from toys to layette to furniture in one area, as opposed to placing each item in a separate aisle and/or department. This is a perfect way to merchandise items for the 'lifestyle' shopper, as they know they have a destination within the store to go to for their particular lifestyle statement.”

She adds that parents also want an emotional attachment to the product as well as an emotional attachment for their child. “Consumers are looking for an age-appropriate item that is developmental and/or educational in nature. They want to feel that the toy will help their child learn and grow, that their child will have fun while learning, and that the item is appealing in terms of aesthetics.”

Consumers are also opting for electronic toys, in addition to traditional touch and feel items, because of the perception that the technology within will help with their child's educational development. From software to interactive plush toys to DVDs, technology can go a long way in teaching, according to many manufacturers.

VTech, Arlington Heights, Ill., will launch more play-while-you-watch, watch-while-you-play activities for its TV-adaptable V.Smile Infant Development System for ages 9 months and up. The age-appropriate Baby Smartridges allow the littlest kids to move up in an activity one level at a time. The Play Time mode lets babies press colorful, easy to use buttons to hear sounds and early phrases. Watch & Learn teaches colors, shapes, music and sign language elements through more interactive activity. A Learn and Explore mode is for helping toddlers better understand cause and effect actions like directing the play on the screen and choosing the subjects they want.

“Parents are looking for enriching, educational products to provide even the youngest learner,” says Julia Fitzgerald, vice president marketing for VTech. “This is evident as the electronic learning product category continues to grow. Electronics and interactivity also continue to be a hot trend in juvenile products as technology creates more innovative ways for children to play and learn. Parents and educators alike seek savvy electronic devices because kids today demand high-tech, sophisticated toys that entertain. As kids continue to get older younger, toy companies need to stay ahead of game. For instance, with the V.Smile line, there was a need in the market to provide video games for younger children. Younger siblings want to play the video games that their older siblings are playing and with the V.Smile line they get a video game experience that's age-appropriate, non-violent, safe and educational.”

New Brain Baby Learning System modules from Brainy Baby, Alpharetta, Ga., will include three Brainy Baby products, CDs, DVDs, books and flashcards. The infant learning module, Left Brain and Right Brain, includes a book, DVD and CD. For toddlers, ages 12 months to 4 years old, there's an Animals and Shapes and Colors learning module that includes a book, DVD and flashcards. Preschoolers can learn their ABCs and 123s with the learning modules of the same name—both include a book, DVD and flashcards.

IQ Baby, a division of Small World Toys, offers musical toys like a Sweet Dreams Melody Pot that stands 10-inches tall and plays music in random, constant or sleep mode. The Twinkle-Time Melody Play Gym is a soft floor mat that doubles as an activity gym. Each set comes with figures of a star, moon, bear and bunny.

This fall, additional music-themed toys include the Tummy Time Together Gym, from Playskool, Pawtucket, R.I., for ages birth and up. The musical light-up gym allows babies to see themselves, while parents can press colorful characters or pull the Wiggle Lion to set-off movement, music and lights. When used in gym mode, parents can encourage infants to bat the dangling characters or pull down the Wiggle Lion to activate melodies, sound effects and bright, light-up characters.

According to Playskool's vice president of marketing, Kevin Fortey, “Parents want to provide stimulating, fun products for their children. Recent studies show that parents also want to spend more time with their children. A parent is a child's best plaything and experts agree that when parents play with their kids the learning opportunity is deeper. Based on this insight, Hasbro's Playskool brand developed the Let's Play Together infant toy line, which features toys specifically designed to allow parents and infants to engage in play together. In addition, each toy in the line includes a play-along tip card for parents with additional ideas for playing and discovering throughout the day.”

Small World's Fine says that retailers need to find the right balance to keep kids, and parents, coming back for more. On way to do that, she says, is to make sure to stress to parents a product's expansion potential. Once they have finished with one product, and as their kids get older, parents should be made aware they can go back for the next level up of a product. “It's hard for a specialty retailer to retain children after the age of 7,” says Fine. “Children—predominantly boys—move to electronics, and it's difficult to attract girls who stop playing with Barbie at 4 and 5 years of age now.”

Geoff Stern, owner of The Toy Professor, Summit, N.J., says he stays away from many of the electronic toys currently on the market and keeps a good stock of more traditional toys for kids instead.

Stern, who opened his store three years ago, says it's been a very successful strategy. He tries to keep the product selection as unique as possible, avoiding products you'd find in Toys “R” Us, for example—that is, except for Legos, which pass his toy quality test.

“Whether I put something in the store that is also in mass is based on two things: customer demand, if the customer asks for it, and the second is its creative and developmental aspect,” says Stern. “My focus is on creative, educational toys. Something has to be a combination of quality, value and what I call 'playability,' the role-playing or creativity aspect of the toy. For specialty, it's something cool, something different. Eighty percent of what is in my store is not available at TRU.”

Stern says he has in-store discounts and other promotions throughout the year for customers and will only use manufacturer signage if it's suitably attractive and functional. He prefers to have in-store samples so customers can test new items. “I have a very old-fashioned attitude,” he says. “A toy store is a place to play and to see product. My focus is not really on the sales.”