By Carrie Pearson
The kids have spoken: They say their favourites are everything from dress-up clothes to computer games.
That’s the result of more than 1,000 youngsters in the Ottawa-Hull area spending weeks doing what they like to do best: playing with toys.
“I like the Play-Doh. The sand kind really feels like sand and the seaweed kind is slimy!” gushes Hilary McIntosh, a 7-year-old toy tester.
Hilary played with the gooey substance while trying to keep her pink-sequined princess dress from getting dirty. “It’s really fun to play with all these things.”
Liam Harding, 3, loved running over grown-ups’ feet with a remote control race car. Meanwhile, others enjoyed digging up prehistoric insects and wearing feather boas.
All in a day’s work for a toy-tester. The fun was part of an annual report by the Canadian Toy Testing Council to see which toys kids like the best.
The results of the Children’s Choice Awards were announced last week just in time for the holiday season.
Among the winners was the game I Dig The Past. In this game, children ages six and older can dig for fossils and grow their own prehistoric pets.
“We send out toys to our test families for eight to 12 weeks. Six samples go out of each toy and then evaluators compile all of the reactions,” says Leigh Poirier, executive director of the CTTC.
The toys are evaluated on design, function, durability and play value. They are rated and put into the annual Toy Report.
The council has been testing toys since 1952. Since then, the CTTC’s stamp of approval has provided benefits for toy manufacturers.
“Winning these awards are fantastic,” says Katherine Lee, a representative of LEGO. “Parents and consumers really respect the organization. This will do wonders for our Christmas sales.”
The aim of the council is to provide help for parents who want to get their children fun, durable and interesting toys.
“This time of year it is hard to know what to buy your kids. It really helps a parent when you go into a store and see the CTTC sticker,” says Julie Flanagan, a Centretown resident and mother of a toy tester. “You know that it means quality and that the kids will actually like it.”