Toy project DT

Lekhraj Newoor 11.1

Toys are described as playthings for the use of children, normally a toy is to provide entertainment and education. It is widely believed that toys influence the emotional, social, mental and the physical development of children. They play a great part to the early years of a person’s life: to occupy and to teach. So it is important what toys children play with and the quality of them.

For many centuries children have been interested

in toys. Prehistoric toys must have existed because

children and adults have used their

imagination to create toys out of any materials. Objects have survived

which have been made out of terracotta are expected

to be around 3000 years old. These were made in

the Mediterranean and the Near East, and were

models of animals and some pull along toys on

wheels. It has been proven that Egyptians, Romans

and Greeks have mad toy for children these include

dolls, terracotta animals with moving parts or wheels, Egyptian wooden figure of a man

games with dice, marbles and counters, hoops, yo-yos kneading dough

and knucklebones.

Toys such as animal figures, balls, spinning tops and toys with simple mechanisms are found in most cultures in the world. Many toys have a simple movement within the toy. Among them are jointed figures sent into acrobatic antics by pressure or torsion, devices activated by swinging weights, balancing or falling toys motivated by gravity and toys that have a wheel that turns which moves something else. These are all toys I am considering to make, hopefully entertaining the child whilst educating.

The toy must be suitable for the user. My toy will be aimed for children aged from 4-7 years of age so the size of it is important: it must not be too big for then it will be too large for the child to pick up, but if it is too small it may be too delicate for the child’s hand or possible for the child to swallow some of the parts. If it has any educational aid then it should not be too hard for the user because then he or she will become bored and give up with the toy. Children aged 4-7 prefer brighter colours than darker ones because they find them more interesting so my toy will be painted in bright colours.

The purpose of a toy is not only for the user to get enjoyment out of it, although this is the main aim. Toys are also important for preschool and during school education. Playing is the most effective way of getting a child to learn. Small children learn by doing, seeing, hearing and talking ive found that out by a book for Childs needs. One of the things a child does whilst playing is testing their ideas about the world. Because there is so much to learn in such a short space of time the learning has to be fun, as long as the child is having fun he or she will go on learning and finding pleasure in his or her knowledge. There are many things to be learning when you are a child including physical skills (such as eye to hand co-ordination and balance), academic skills (reading, maths), social skills and emotional. Repetition is important, interesting and fun for children: it leads to learning, mastery and success.

As well as education a toy has to be able to occupy the user. This will benefit the child because it will give the child something to do and will also benefit the parent because it is occupying the child. Factors that keep the child entertained are toys that give the child a sense of achievement and an open-ended toy that can be used in many different ways.

A toy like the gameboy scores high on the occupying factor and provides mental education to get the childs mind thinking. On the other hand sorting blocks give a lot of education but are not so entertaining. To create the ideal toy it should have the entertainment value of the gameboy and is as educational as toys such as sorting blocks.

Brief

I intend to design and make a marketable toy for 4-7 year old children and possibly above, I have design it so it can because within their own home. The toy should provide entertainment and mental education for the child. The product could be made in batch production and be available in toy stores if it went on the market. And if I have time I will also create a packaging to promote my board game for this I will be needing a original cover so I can trace it out and cut the out line myself it will also include barcode, initials, manufacture, pricing and logo.