Posts by Toy Tips Inc
Today’s guest: Marianne Szymanski of Toy Tips Magazine
Mike Carruthers: When you’re buying toys for the kids this holiday season, think in terms of what they’re interested in, not what you think they should be interested in. Marianne Szymanski: If you buy your child a sports toy because maybe their throw isn’t the best and you want to practice it — that’s great.…
Read MoreElectronic toys made to move kids
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The movement started with Dance Dance Revolution, a video game that inspired youngsters to give up their joysticks and boogie with abandon in front of the television. Electronic-toy makers, often denounced for fostering laziness, have discovered that fitness sells. Click here for article
Read MoreMarianne Szymanski
Biography: Marianne Szymanski is founder and president of Toy Tips, Inc., an independent international child development research group that conducts on-going academic and scientific research on products from the toy and juvenile product industries. Marianne has led her organization in unbiased testing of over 34,000 products from more than 900 manufacturers. She is the 1996…
Read MoreEducational Toys Can Be Fun
Many toys can offer not only fun, but a learning experience for kids as they play with them. Some are so much fun, youngsters don’t even realize they’re also being taught as they play, according to Marianne Szymanski, president of Toytips.com. Click here for article
Read MoreParents need to be wary of toy ratings
SEATTLE — Nearly every parenting magazine and daytime talk show recommends a list of toys this season. They’re joined by a host of non-profit organizations rating toys. This year there’s even an entire show, “The Ultimate Toy Awards,” set to air Saturday at noon on WMAQ-Ch. 5. The goal is to help parents navigate the…
Read MorePlaying for a living
At the Parents’ Choice Foundation in Timonium, the winners — brightly colored, neatly arranged — occupy a coveted corner of the back room. There’s a mammoth bouncy ball in primary colors, with ridges for throwing and catching. A realistic-looking cobra puppet, undulating from a basket. An alligator who, praise be, helps pick up his own…
Read MoreCreating a business out of love for toys
No one can fault Marianne Szymanski for being a kid at heart. It’s part of her job both as a mother and entrepreneur. Click here for article
Read MoreFinding Your Passion
Marianne Szymanski discovered her passion as a young girl.”I’ve always loved children and believed in helpingothers,” says Szymanski, the president of Toy Tips Inc., aconsumer-focused international consulting firm in Milwaukee thattests toys based on appropriate age and skill development. “Asa pre-teen, I enjoyed holding MDA [Muscular Dystrophy Association]carnivals in my backyard. I would donate my…
Read MoreSelecting Just-Right Toys for Gifts
Forget about the hot toys this holiday season. Scratch ’em off that commercially coerced gift list before you actually find one to buy. When trying to make an informed choice about purchasing the best toys for children, consumers more concerned with a product’s safety, playability and educational value than popularity now can consult several noncommercial…
Read MoreFor Parents and Stores, Anxiety Over Hot Toys
By IAN AUSTEN or parents who fruitlessly searched empty store aisles for last year’s blockbuster electronic toy, Furby, or who braved lines that would have done the retail system of the Soviet Union proud to wait for a Tickle Me Elmo in 1996, take heart: the toy industry feels your pain. Click here for article
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