Can any one claim he or she has not played with toys as a child? It is not for nothing that it has become a multi billion dollar global industry. Why children like toys? The playful joy they realize in the company of toys underpins the effective psycho-physical development. Children just love toys.
Toys for Different Age Groups
No surprise, toys are available for children of every age group. Toys designed for tiny toddlers don’t interest older children. Moreover, features and safety features vary in increasing order as the age group.
Safety Considerations
Federal Government and different state governments have enacted appropriate laws. Manufacturers under certification of registration must declare “that material used in such toys shall be new and free from dangerous or harmful substances; providing for disinfection of such material containing products of animal origin; and prescribing penalties.
Lots of Them!
Most top selling toys are based on popular characters. Superman, Batman, and Disney characters are a few examples barring the typical Barbies.
Disney characters are by far the most popular ones among children along with the famous ‘Teddy Bear’. Children identify these characters immediately from a distance which they want to associate with. If you want to check how thick their association is, try denying them a new toy and you will know immediately from the sudden outbursts.
You can see a pattern in choice of toys, too. Tiny toddlers are drawn towards non-moving, stationary toys which go well with them. Kitchen sets and stuffed toys fall into this category. As they grow a couple of years, their world of interest changes to powered/non-powered moving cars, bikes or even trains. Spring wound band master, remote controlled cars; dogs become a rage by the time they dream of owning a toy gun.
As a parent you must notice, by this age, that a girl child’s interests bifurcate from that of a boy’s. If boy likes to drive paddling or battery cars, girls are more inclined towards domestic things like rocking horses, set of mother-baby dolls, furniture sets etc.
As a rule of thumb, girls turn away from toys earlier than boys. Boys may continue to play with war games and toys of warriors of famous characters for a few more years with a likely gun in their hand.
Toys keep you engaged without age barrier, once they awaken the child within you.
