TheGrowing Years

ABCs and 123s are learning fundamentals. So is developing memory, spatial, motor and communicative skills. As children move from infancy to the toddler years of 2 to 4, everything they learn will help them transition successfully into the first years of school and beyond. Play time is crucial during this period, and toys for this age group should be safe and have an educational element while at the same time keep their audience entertained.

Mark Carson, president of Fat Brain Toys, agrees that kids need constant reinforcement during the preschool years, something that will help them in developing some early skills before they start kindergarten. The Elkhorn, Neb.-based retailer and manufacturer is currently set to launch Dado Cubes, 10 colorful plastic blocks with slits that can be stacked in different 3-D constructs. The company says that Dado Cubes can help children ages 3 and up develop spatial awareness and problem-solving skills. Beyond the original set of Dado Cubes, the company is working on four or five variations that will be released within the next year, drawing on the same Dado principals of dimensional stacking.

“With the preschool age, a toy has to have intuitiveness to it and not require instructions and extended time to explain how it works,” Carson says. “Building blocks have been a staple of development for eons” for just that reason, he adds. “It’s a big thing for kids to have a sense of accomplishment, no matter how you construct something… That 'Wow, I created a masterpiece’ feel, it’s important at this development stage.”

Retailers looking to keep product moving in the preschool market may want to consider several strategies: play dates, permanent play areas, samples, informational product brochures (which are sometimes provided by manufacturers), as well as other promotions outside of sales, retailers and manufacturers who specialize in the preschool products say.

Nurit Amdur, co-founder and CEO of Alex, Northvale, N.J. prefers the play date route. She says that in-store play days help retailers pro-mote preschool products so parents and children have an opportunity to test drive a favorite toy at the store before they bring it home. Alex offers five free play days to retailers per year, a program that offers stores a kit that includes enough supplies for up to 20 children, each with a different theme: Dough Day, Paper Flower Making, Fun Foam Beads, Sand Art, Face Painting and Body Art, Marker Art or Animal Collage for children ages 3 and older. This year Alex introduced two play day themes—Learn to Needlepoint and Learn to Crochet—for slightly older kids. “Retailers love hosting play days, because they bring the kids in for a fun activity, build community relations and boost sales,” says Amdur.

Among Alex’s preschool line is the Little Hands assortment. The arts and crafts and activity sets include puzzles and lacing activities as well as a wide range of art supplies and activity kits. The Rub A Dub line for bath play is also a top seller, according to Amdur. This year, Alex launched Tub Tunes, play instruments like drums, flutes and a xylophone that are tuned using bath water and can be played along to sheet music. A trumpet and whistle will be added to the line later this year.

For Fat Brain’s Carson, in-store samples are an inexpensive, yet functional way to demonstrate preschool product best, especially when it comes to construction toys. “Have one set fully constructed, so people can stroll by and see for themselves,” he advises.

Whether in the toy store, at school or home, kids know what they’re doing when it comes to play time—they know how to have fun with their toys. For consumers, an opportunity to play with the toy at the store helps, but when this is not offered, Amdur believes finding the most appropriate preschool toy can be difficult for consumers. Yes, safety and education are things to take into account, but if the toy is not fun, children at this age get bored easily and will look elsewhere, she says. “Play value has two components that are equally important to parents: quality and quantity,” Amdur says. “The most educational or beneficial activity, toy or game is useless if the child is bored within 30 seconds.”

Beth Bacheldor, co-owner of Two Girls and a Boy of Occoquan, Va., puts samples in her play area, particularly of playthings that are on sale. Other samples, provided by manufacturers, are on display throughout her store, especially those that customers cannot fully appreciate by looking at the box alone.

Puzzles, puppets, stackable/shape sorting toys and wooden toys from Haba, Melissa & Doug and Germany’s Selecta Spielzeug are some of the top sellers for ages 2 to 4. “Puzzles, like ones with wooden pegs, are always big sellers for that age group, because they are just learning how to put things together,” she says. “Haba makes great stacker toys with wheels that can be pulled and kids can make different things like a Water Castle if stacked a certain way.”

As Two Girls and a Boy just moved from a 700-square-foot space to a 1,300-square-foot location, Bacheldor says that inventory is increasing, but basics are basics and always have the fun-plus-learning factor for preschoolers. “For ages 2 to 4 you’re starting to see a lot of imaginative play and pretend play. Puppets and finger puppets are also popular for preschoolers. We just started carrying Melissa & Doug hand puppets, and those are doing fabulous,” she says.

Minneapolis-based Jellycat’s dolls, soft books and other toys are also big sellers at the store, but even more so online, especially with international shoppers. People from all over the world purchase them on the store’s Web site because they can’t find them everywhere. Parents like the dolls because of the quality, Bacheldor says, while with some of the more whimsical designs “parents tend to buy those for themselves!

“Parents—at least the customers in our shop—are looking for toys that are educational to a degree but they also want to encourage children to engage in play instead of the toys playing for them,” she adds. “There are a lot of toys out there that blink and play exciting tunes. I have a 4-year-old (son) that loves that, but I also try to keep toys like wooden blocks around. Parents come in for specific toys and want the child to be active in play. Anyone can go to major toy retailers and find the more electronic toys that bonk and flash lights.”

Tanya Jenkins, owner and buyer for Sunnyvale, Calif., retailer Totally Tots, continues to see Sesame Street as a trusted and popular product tie-in for the store’s more than 10,000 customers. She often couples books with plush or another toy so parents see the purchase as educational, while kids see it as something fun. Huggy Buggy toys from Hooray! are also popular sellers, along with books from Random House and Publications International. “Parents say they’re looking for something that will stand the test of time with their child. When they’re 2 years of age, they want something that helps with motor skills, but after 2, they want something that will take them to 3 and help with other skills later on. At 2, they’re looking for things that will occupy them and make them sit them down for awhile. When they’re older, they look for things that will take them into school.”

Like Jenkins, most retailers agree that Thomas the Tank Engine, Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street are some properties that continue to be staples for this age group, aided by both fun and developmental toys featuring the characters. While licensed toys may not be something retailers want to stock for older children, it may be a consideration in the preschool department, since preschoolers are home more and likely spending more time with popular shows on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel or other networks.

“Characters are strong. It’s something they [kids] identify with,” says Michael Edelstein, managing director, preschool play for Learning Curve. “[Preschool’s] red hot with licensing and continues to grow, and we want to maintain its classic elements.”

For Thomas the Tank Engine, Learning Curve will expand its line next spring, following response from retailers for its wooden railway, Take-Along Thomas and other items for this age group. The John Deere Big Scoop Steel Tractor and Bob the Builder Follow Me remote-controlled scoop are also popular buys while a Bob the Builder ride-on is one new item available for fall/holiday. The company will also introduce some new brands next year.

Kids don’t play to learn, but they will if they don’t realize it. Jamie Cygielman, senior vice president, consumer products for HIT Entertainment, the New York-based children’s television producer behind Angelina Ballerina, Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine, says that character identification can help sell preschool products, particularly to cover up the educational element from kids. “Play is important at every age from birth to preschool,” she says. “Toys facilitate this. For kids, play is work. It enhances creativity, defines and perfects skills, encourages that they take part in physical activity. It’s also a form of entertainment.” In addition to Learning Curve, HIT is currently working with VTech (the V.Smile line); Hasbro, which is developing an educational gaming system that will allow preschoolers and other kids to see themselves on TV; and Jakks Pacific (Telestory Reader).

Cygielman says the company works with specialty stores in terms of offering a display—the Learning Curve Thomas railway set, for example, is popular among retailers. Displays let consumers try before they buy and cross-selling with related books and DVDs also works. “When children see the railway on the floor, parents see how engrossed they really are in the play experience. Parents see first hand that the toy keeps them engaged and active. It’s a springboard for their imagination.”

While better known recently for tween-oriented fare, especially on TV, Disney (through its Burbank, Calif.-based Disney Consumer Products unit) will be launching new items for children ages 3 and up, including Name That Song Mickey, a soft plush Mickey Mouse with wireless keyboard that teaches kids 14 songs and plays more than 20. Jessi Dunne, executive vice president of global toys for Disney tells Playthings that the character identification and educational aspects of the toy are important since preschoolers start to become more vocal about what they want, especially if it’s something they see on television.

“We’re looking to meet the ongoing demand of the child asking for toys,” says Dunne. “At the preschool age, they are beginning to spread their wings a little bit—not relying on mom as much and gaining confidence. Traditional preschool toys should help build basic skill sets, build confidence and, hopefully, make [children] want to explore even more.”

This holiday, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will be Disney’s primary preschool push. Product based on the TV series will include puzzles and games, and in a first for the Mickey property for the preschool market, traditional plush.

Beyond Mickey and Thomas, many toys without famous faces attached to them keep their place at preschoolers’ play tables by encouraging pretend play. At Melissa & Doug, products like puppets, wooden play food and kitchen sets help exercise young imaginations through pretend play.

Melissa Berstein, Melissa & Doug’s CEO, tells Playthings that puppets, both full-sized and finger, seem to be popular with preschoolers, because they require movement (of fingers and hands) while creating a storyline of being in a safari, a fairy tale princess or a brave knight. Plush, puzzles, role-play items, including a new kitchen, and a new line of arts and crafts products, including non-wax crayons that are triangular and will not roll off the table, will be available this fall. By 2007, the company will launch a doll house line, beginning with a Victorian-inspired house, one that looks like a collector would buy it, but is perfect for a little girl, according to Bernstein. The doll house will include wall paper, Victorian-style mini furniture and separately sold accessories, including plates and silverware.

“This is the age when their minds are most fertile,” says Bernstein. “Everything they do involves pretend play from the simplest toy to the most elaborate. Whether they’re just stacking trains, they really use this as a stepping stone to go into other areas, helping to build fine motor coordination. Parents are looking for great value, great durability and open-ended play value—even something they can pass on to other children.”

From knights to pirates to princesses to dock workers, farmers, even soccer champions, Playmobil has a little something for imaginative play. New for holiday this year are Soccer, Harbor, Magic Castle, Pirates and Knights play sets. Laura Wittman, marketing and sales promotions manager for the manufacturer, says that the Family House and Preschool Train in the Playmobil 1.2.3 line help children to create imaginary households and friends.

“Parents always want the best for their kids, so they want to choose toys which encourage and foster their development in all fields,” says Wittman. “Playmobil toys support this development by offering inspiration for their first pretend play stories.”

Playmobil is currently distributing to retailers and other organizations its RDA of Play brochure, developed by the company to help parents encourage quality play. To its retailers, the company provides product brochures, displays and sponsors competitions, including an imaginative play contest for parents and children.

Dr. Dorothy Singer, child psychologist and author of Play=Learning, says kids should start playing from the time they are born, which helps initiate the learning process. “Play reaches its most important period at ages 3 to 5 when a child has language and the capacity to pretend, or what we call symbolic play. This means using substitutes for the real objects, changing voices, playing different roles, making the large, confusing world come into control through using miniature figures to enact situations. This gives a child a sense of mastery and control,” she says.

Singer adds that it’s important for retailers to know what products to recommend. “A good toy store will generally have a salesperson that will help,” she says. “If not, it is best to read the packages for information about the toy and the age that the toy is appropriate for. Also, it is good to go online and get information from some of the toy sites and industry reports. There are also many parent information sites that give hints about good toys.”

Alex’s Amdur adds that kids learn all the time, so having the right tools, and a variety of them, is important. “After age 2, when most children graduate from infant toys, which tend to emphasize age-appropriateness and provide guidelines for parents, it can be difficult to discern what parents should be looking for in terms of preschool toys,” she says. “Age-grading of toys can be confusing as well because a toy that is safe enough for a 3-year-old might not actually be appropriate yet, or a toy that is entirely appropriate for a 2-year-old may not have been developed with that 2-year-old in mind.”

She adds that her company found there was a void in the market for creative products for preschoolers that were safe and appropriate. “In terms of developing Alex products, we have a near-constant dialogue about this subject, because it is very important that our products are appropriate for and marketed toward the correct audience,” she says.

Pat Sarka, vice president, creative development, Educational Insights, says the company’s PlayFoam is a top seller for preschoolers and all ages. The non-messy sculpting foam lets children create whatever their imaginations can think up. Educational Insights has introduced a line of finger puppets of classic children’s tales like “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Goldilocks,” an activity parents and children can do together. Each set includes learning activities based on the stories, including recipes.

“Finding the right toys can be extremely confusing for parents, teachers and caregivers, especially when shopping at big toy retailers or large discount chains where the selection is huge,” says Sarka. “Toys are a child’s tools for learning. Through toys and play, children explore their world, find out about themselves, and learn to interact with others.”

According to Sarka, pretend play items encourage children to use their imaginations and try out their growing social skills; simple board games can help teach basic concepts from colors and shapes to letters and counting and also help children reinforce social skills like learning to take turns and following rules; manipulative toys like puzzles, stringing beads, and pegs and peg boards help to develop hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills; construction toys like blocks teach children early math and science concepts, such as geometry, gravity, and balance; active play equipment such as balls, bikes, and bean bags build strength, coordination, balance, and the confidence children need to meet physical challenges; and “reading to children is a very great gift,” he adds.

Kids can have some fun while learning their ABCs and 123s and more, and “parents appreciate that,” says Two Girls and a Boy’s Bacheldor. “When they’re home with children, they want to spend time with them, but parents are so busy that they also want kids to play on their own but move from 'Entertain me, entertain me!’ to 'I can play with that stack of wooden toys on my own.’ So, they’re not spoon fed by the toy.”

Amdur adds, “Kids don’t have jobs. Play is what they do.” So they need to feel satisfied, fulfilled; they need to keep learning new things and they need to have some nonsensical fun once in a while—just like adults.”