Are educational toys really educational? Guest post from MC Milker
Marketing consultant MC Milker blogs at The Not Quite Crunchy Parent. Before blogging, and before becoming not quite crunchy, she spent 20 years in the corporate world, marketing products like toys, food, and school supplies to kids and parents.
She reports here on the Consumer Electronics Show. Also see The Sandbox Summit - A Not-Quite-Crunchy Look at a Major Trade Show Event, D is for Digital – A Report from the Sandbox, and Toys in the Sandbox – New Digital Toys at CES.
D is for Digital, a report released at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, confirms parents’ worst fears about video games marketed as educational. The study by the respected Joan Ganz Cooney Center found less than 3 percent of the games studied were based on educational curriculum.
Educational toys (including video games) is a $1.1 billion segment of the $22 billion toy industry and the fastest growing one, according to Playthings magazine.
Sadly, it is an unregulated one. Manufacturers must abide by “truth in advertising” laws but as no standards exist for educational claims and those made by electronic toy manufacturer remain largely unsubstantiated.
Though some companies such as LeapFrog, Hooked On Phonics and Knowledge Adventure do devote sections of their Web sites to describing research and impact studies, such research is not widely available or documented.
And the voice of reason is often drowned out. Though child development experts and prestigious organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend no screen time for children under two, the infant and preschool market for electronics has exploded in the past few years. Despite an alarming rate of attention issues noted by teachers and rising childhood obesity, American children still sit in front of a screen, TV, computer, and increasingly the myriad of handhelds and game consoles, an average of 5 hours per day — well more than the amount recommended by experts.
And still the category of products keeps growing.
The Joan Ganz Cooney Foundation recognizes that parents have no way of knowing whether or not a game or toy marketed as “educational’ really is:
Without firm and independently verified standards of educational value, how is a typical parent or educator able to discern if the multitude of products in the marketplace live up to their claims?
And has these recommendations:
Federal regulatory bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission, voluntary industry groups such as The Better Business Bureau, and parent advocates such as Common Sense Media should collaborate on a consumer protection initiative to better describe educational effectiveness in interactive media products for children.
Until then — caveat emptor.
More from other attendees at the Sandbox Summit:
January 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Thank you, Ms. Milker, for your post. I appreciate the research that went into it. I can just picture these marketers sitting around some table cross-fertilizing new synergies for leveraging the ROI potentiality on targeted 18-month-old consumer segment sector segmentation sectored segmentarianism.
So not by way of argument, but I was struck what you didn’t write about: Eighteen-month-olds don’t buy stuff; their parents do. What are we to do about parents who (a) are suckers and buy this stuff either because (b) at best because they’re convinced their 18-month-olds need to learn math, say, to help calculate how quickly the Social Security system will go broke or (b) at worst they feel less guilty plopping their kids in front of a computer screen instead of a TV set, thereby freeing up their own time to watch hilarious reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and drink red wine in bottles adorned with attractive labels? (I’m Exhibit A.)
January 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
All educational companies are not created equal. Hooked on Phonics has distinguished itself from the traditional educational toy market by creating and marketing products that are comprehensive educational programs and not marketed as toys. Our programs feature a multitude of components including workbooks, books, flash cards, and CD-ROMs.
The systematic approach used in all of our programs and highlighted in our marketing is very easy to find on our website. We proudly post how our programs work, what phonics is, as well as our research basis for our core line of products.
We do not make claims we can’t substantiate and focus our marketing efforts on parents, not children.
Best,
Hooked on Phonics
January 11th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Why can’t toys just be toys? Why is it a toy is so much better than anything else because it’s teaching my kid something? I know it’s important to learn, but there’s way too much emphasis on learning and not so much on playing.
Like Kindergarten used to get kids ready for school. Now, your child is behind if they aren’t sent to preschool/pre-K to get them ready for kindergarten.
Like the first commenter said, parents want to feel less guilty about not spending time with their children. And then they are all up in arms when their children go off into the world with no real life skills. Now, excuse me, I’m going to go make supper with my daughter. IT’s the best entertainment I know of, and I’m hoping in a few years, she can take over that chore. LOL. J/K.
January 12th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Hooked on Phonics: thanks so much for stopping by! I give you credit for making a thoughtful, relevent comment on the blog. I’m going to spend some more time on your site.
asrai: Toys can be toys. Blocks are blocks and puzzles are puzzles. Both have stood the test of time because they are fun. However, I’ve got a problem with corps who claim their toy is “educational” when it isn’t (for example, Baby Einstein videos that claim to help children learn — when in fact experts recommend no child under 2 watch any TV at all.
We also make dinner together here at our house. It takes longer, and is much messier, but you’re right — good entertainment. Thanks for stopping by.
January 14th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Mel,
You make a good point, one that I lament and have written about in the past. The best toy for a baby is a parent. But, this is not always possible and really…it isn’t…take it from a parent who was laughed at for spending too much time with her child( I ignored them).
So the best toys, per my research are: blocks, dolls, stacking toys…in other words…all the stuff children played with before electronic toys. The big issue, as you mention is lack of information. parents JUST DON”T KNOW. I didn’t know prior to becoming a parent even though(or maybe because) I worked in children’s marketing !!
Parents For Ethical Marketing works very hard to close that gap. I’m proud to be a member!
January 17th, 2008 at 4:06 am
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