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| LifeFriday, June 20, 2008 3:37 PM CDT |
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Toys old and new find way into kids' summer playtime
It doesn't mean those days were better -- there was no air conditioning, TV was limited and there were no video games. Maybe it just showed kids were taking the most amusing option available in heading outside. Bob Keller thinks so, and as director of the McLean County Health Department, he is among the voices beckoning children outside this summer. He doesn't have studies proving that young people are outside less than in prior decades. He has the anecdotes and common sense. Just add up the time spent on computers, video games and good cable shows, Keller said. Diet and exercise, he noted, are the key components behind healthy body structures and, in contrast, increased frequency of children being overweight and obese. Less screen time inside is part of a solution, Keller said. "We know, as a fact, when people move around they burn calories," he said, adding that it takes a lot less movement to text message a friend than to ride a bike to his house. The lures There are lures to get young people outside -- games, non-scripted activities and toys in addition to the organized activities. The Toy Industry Association reports the total "traditional" U.S. toy industry at $22.5 billion annually. Video games and accessories account for another $14.4 billion. Outdoor toys and sports equipment are among the largest sectors within traditional toys, approaching $3 billion in annual sales. It is notable, though, that the technology explosion of the past decades hasn't produced great inventions in the way of new outdoor toys. The familiar A look at the outdoor-toy landscape shows a lot of product improvements -- plastic slides, unlike the metal ones that used to scorch your skin on a July day, and bicycles with better design and performance. A design may go retro for nostalgia, like the Schwinn Sting-Ray reissued in 2004, but for some products there is no need. The WHAM-O company is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and its existing product lineup is quite familiar. Slip 'N Slide came out in 1961. Frisbee celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Hula Hoop turned 50 yesterday. "It's really innovation within a category," said Jim Silver, a toy industry expert and editor of Toy & Family Entertainment magazine. He notices small breakthrough products, but he said a company like Hasbro is rewarded more financially by keeping within the familiar. A new Nerf football flies further. A new squirt gun reloads easier. Hot toys for '08 Among the "what's hot" list for summer are the following outdoor toys, listed in the "Hot Dozen" from the spring edition of Toy Wishes magazine: • The Banzai Skimboard Surfer. This creates a surfing experience in the back yard, with the skimboard guiding a child over a water slide that resembles a Slip 'N Slide. It costs about $40. • Crayola 3-D Sidewalk Chalk. It takes sidewalk art to a different place. The colors are designed to have a 3-D effect when using provided glasses. Retails for about $10. • Super Soaker Bottle Shot. The newest Super Soaker has a universal connector for ammunition, meaning various different bottles can be used to supply water to the gun. Other Super Soakers have plastic ammunition containers that aren't interchangeable. Shooting range is about 20 feet. Cost: $8. People with big budgets sometimes splurge for a back-yard trampoline. About.com toys writer Dipika Mirpuri recommends the Variflex brand High Jump 14-foot Trampoline, with enclosure. The mesh fabric encircles the trampoline to keep people from falling off the equipment. The combination runs $330. The enclosure alone costs $160. She also recommends the Razor Pro Scooter ($60) and roller skates. For the younger set, ages 2 to 5, Mirpuri points to new variations of the sandbox: • The Naturally Playful Sand Table ($50) holds up to 40 pounds of sand. It stands above the ground, which is supposed to make it easier for a youngster to use. It comes with a lid to keep the sand clean and to keep your cat from converting it into a litter box. • The Naturally Playful Sand and Water Activity Center ($80) has a compartment for sand and a compartment for water. The young sand sculptor can mix the two during the creation process. Also comes with cat-proof lid. Back indoors Silver believes kids still love getting outside, unless the heat is truly oppressive. He said the hotter the June, the emptier the toy shelves at stores become, especially in the water-related product categories. For the indoor times, Silver has become a big fan -- as a parent, player and an industry analyst -- of the Wii video game system by Nintendo and the Wii Fit games. Wii Fit has players simulate downhill skiing, yoga and exercise. It's so addicting, Silver said, that he ignored game warnings to rest and injured himself from overuse. And in a world known to come full circle, Wii Fit now includes a Hula Hoop simulation. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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