Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Toy Test Time
As the fall weather gets colder, parents not only start thinking about Halloween costumes and candy, but also about what Christmas gifts their kids will find under the tree this year. Already we're hearing the hype about the "hottest" toys of the holiday season. Leading the way: the "Tickle Me Elmo" Extreme doll. What makes it so extreme, you ask? Well, the little guy laughs so hard this time around that he slaps his knee and even falls over. You know, you can't help but smile when you see it.
However, it's not a good idea to buy toys based solely on hype. It's better to get something your kids will actually play with, preferably for longer than 5 minutes. This week I had the chance to watch kids in action as they played with some of this season's new toys and I came away with some new insight.
KMBC is once again part of the "Great American Toy Test." TV stations all across the country find kids to play with new toys so they can be judged both locally and nationally. We went to Operation Breakthrough in Kansas City with four boxes full of new toys and let the kids go at it. Something that jumped out at me right away with a group of Preschool kids was that the "hot" toy, the aforementioned Tickle Me Elmo, wasn't very popular. In fact, no kid touched it for about 10 minutes. Finally, one boy played with it for a short while, then moved on to something else. The Elmo doll was popular with the toddlers, however.
A toy that did make a big impact (but not necessarily in a good way) was a life-like monkey doll that moved on it's own. Instead of being a fun play companion, the little monkey freaked out the Pre-K kids. They were scared of it. They spent most of the time throwing it out of the window of a play tent. Eventually, it was laying on its side against a wall, twitching with its little electric motions.
If you're a parent trying to figure out the best toys for your kids this Christmas, you can check out our Toy Test reports next month. You can see them on First News in November, just in time for the big holiday shopping season that kicks off after Thanksgiving. We'll try to cut through the hype and give parents some good advice before they head to the stores.
However, it's not a good idea to buy toys based solely on hype. It's better to get something your kids will actually play with, preferably for longer than 5 minutes. This week I had the chance to watch kids in action as they played with some of this season's new toys and I came away with some new insight.
KMBC is once again part of the "Great American Toy Test." TV stations all across the country find kids to play with new toys so they can be judged both locally and nationally. We went to Operation Breakthrough in Kansas City with four boxes full of new toys and let the kids go at it. Something that jumped out at me right away with a group of Preschool kids was that the "hot" toy, the aforementioned Tickle Me Elmo, wasn't very popular. In fact, no kid touched it for about 10 minutes. Finally, one boy played with it for a short while, then moved on to something else. The Elmo doll was popular with the toddlers, however.
A toy that did make a big impact (but not necessarily in a good way) was a life-like monkey doll that moved on it's own. Instead of being a fun play companion, the little monkey freaked out the Pre-K kids. They were scared of it. They spent most of the time throwing it out of the window of a play tent. Eventually, it was laying on its side against a wall, twitching with its little electric motions.
If you're a parent trying to figure out the best toys for your kids this Christmas, you can check out our Toy Test reports next month. You can see them on First News in November, just in time for the big holiday shopping season that kicks off after Thanksgiving. We'll try to cut through the hype and give parents some good advice before they head to the stores.
Posted at 6:41 AM
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