Active Play: Challenging the Mind, Body and Imagination
Keeping your kids and yourselves engaged through physical activity is
a key essential for leading happier and healthier lives. Propelled
by consumer demand and influenced by initiatives such as Michelle
Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign, toymakers have stepped up
their efforts to develop toys and games that offer active solutions for
the whole family.
When products are engaging and fun, kids of all ages will stick with
them longer, thereby deriving greater health benefits. What’s
more, “Active Play” can serve as a catalyst for both the
body and the brain:
ACTIVE PLAY
Toys and games that emphasize a physical (exercise) component are the
obvious way to get your kids up and moving, keep their bodies active,
limber and flexible, and promote healthy lifestyle choices. The outdoor
games segment is flourishing with game and outdoor sports play for kid
and family activities. Some products include Hasbro’s Nerf and
Super Soaker blasters, Playskool Games’ Pop Goes Froggio, Red
Rover (Mattel), Flickin Chicken (Haywire Games), and Squap by Diggin
Active.
Even products that have a high-tech component such as the Wii and
SWINX gaming systems are designed to foster “kid-generated
action” by incorporating movement into game … think
“kid = remote.” Other examples, such as Wild Planet’s
Hyper Dash Extreme and Sonic Slam by Radica, capitalize on a programmed
degree of randomness to combine thinking and movement.
ACTIVE IMAGINATION AND INTELLIGENCE
Focusing on “Play with a Purpose,” Active Imagination and
Active Intelligence toys and games stimulate your child’s mind and
creativity through hands-on play experiences. There are many
options to keep multiple generations engaged and connected through
family-friendly imaginative play and hands-on experiences with building
sets, arts and crafts and science/discovery experimentations; brain
teasers and “creativity generators” such as logic games and
puzzles; and role play and dress-up items.
- Building sets and arts and crafts can improve hand-eye coordination
and brain functioning, as well as promote self-esteem with a complete
start-to-finish experience. Science and discovery experiments inspire
pure creative play through hands-on experiences with the products.
Newer introductions in the building sets category include Trio by
Fisher Price, Megabrands’ new Thomas the Tank selections and
Lego’s Toy Story 3 and Atlantis best-sellers. Playmobil, Knex,
Uberstix (Path Products) and other construction manufacturers have also
expanded ranges with new licenses and play patterns.
The arts and crafts category continues to flourish. Crayola’s
new Glow Explosion, Alex’s Foil Jewelry Maker, Spin Master’s
Moon Dough, Creativity For Kids’ Shrinky Dink Sets, Scratch
Arts’ new Scratching Magic Travelling Fashion Dress-Ups and
Fashion Angels Fashion Plates are enjoyed for room décor, fashion
design, and more.
In the area of science and discovery products, the Mythbusters series
from Elmer’s Giddy Up, Uncle Milton’s Star Wars Science
series, Primary Science Set (Learning Resources), Sid the Science Kid
Learning Science Kits (Patch Products), the Dangerous Book for Boys
– Classic Chemistry (Thames & Kosmos), as well as products
from Be Amazing and Young Scientists are excellent options.
- Brain teasers and problem-solving toys, games and puzzles
incorporate strategic play scenarios, cooperative teamwork or
competitive play scenarios. Many games offer dual play rules, providing
both cooperative and competitive play rules in the instructions to allow
for different play scenarios with the same purchase.
Games in this category include Rubik’s Slide (Techno-Source),
Zingo-to-Go and Solitaire Chess (ThinkFun), Blockers (Briarpatch),
Consensus (Mind Logic), Sequence Numbers and Link-O (Jax Games) and more
from Endless Games, Winning Moves, USAopoly, Pressman and Cardinal.
Open-ended “everyone-wins” games can be found in the
ranges for I Can Do That Games Preschool Games and Zimzala Family Games,
Story Cubes (Gamewright-Ceaco), Dominion (Rio Grande Games), Bubble Talk
(TechnoSource) and more.
- Role play may involve dressing up as favorite characters from
blockbuster movies such as Iron Man II, Shrek, Prince of Persia, and Toy
Story 3; classic role play includes impersonating astronauts, super
heroes, firefighters, princesses and fairies.
In the role play category, the KidsCraft Playhouse shuttle and the
Delta Creations Princess and Toy Story 3 play tables and chair sets
double as room décor and play pieces, providing price value
options. AeroMax has added new “fire-power” to their
Super-Soaking Firefighter Hose and Backpack, and many affordable
dress-up options are available from Thinkway, Disguise, Rubies Costumes,
Hasbro, Mattel, Playmates, Spin Master and more.
As you can see, Active Play products promote a wide variety of
options to keep your child in shape. And remember, these are just a
small selection of the many toys that challenge both the body and the
imagination. For some tips on Active Outdoor Play, check out the
recently added video.
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