Yesterday the Toy Industry Association announced its nominees for the Toys of The Year Award for 2009. It is the tenth year of these awards. From their press release: “The TOTY Awards celebrate the creativity and innovation of the toy industry and the products on the ballot represent this year’s ‘best of the best’ as selected by those in the know – members of the industry itself.”
Given the horrid quality of toys currently produced and marketed by the toy industry, I hope that parents will steer clear of the advice of the Toy Industry Association. It is riddled with violent toys for boys; sexy dolls for girls; and plugged-in toys for everyone. People will spend a whole lot of money on these terrible toys, too. The average price for the toys in the Most Innovative category is about $48.00.
Take a look at one of the nominees for Most Innovative Toy of the Year: Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS 35 Blaster by Hasbro (MSRP $29.99). ” ‘Round’ out your N-STRIKE arsenal with this awesome RAIDER RAPID FIRE CS-35 blaster! Giving it the highest dart capacity yet, the drum magazine holds 35 darts and features a clear window to let you know when your ammo’s getting low. A pump-action handle lets you control your rate of fire and choose your blasting mode! Add to that its adjustable stock, tactical rail and totally awesome design, this blaster is definitely the ultimate choice for any battle!”
The Girl Toy of the Year includes nominations for two doll lines I’ve written unfavorably about in the past, Liv Dolls and Moxie Girlz .
You can view all the nominated toys at www.ToyAwards.org.
My nomination for the Most Innovative Toy of the Year is nature. This morning, while
waiting for the school bus, my sons started making a structure from found natural objects. Within a few moments, they had created a “pyramid with a flag”. I am sure that over the next few mornings, they will continue to change the structure, and it will evolve as they innovate. Cost to me: nothing. Zero. No money spent. Benefit to my sons: creative innovation, self-expression and nature-appreciation.
If you want to know what the real experts think, give the Toy Industry Association a pass, and check out the new CCFC Guide to Commercial-Free Holidays 2009 and TRUCE’s Toy Action Guides. These folks celebrate the creativity and innovation of children, not industry.
You've got to love nature! Keep building boys! I look forward to seeing pics of their evolving structure!
Ah, yes! The structure is evolving daily. I'll post an update soon. BTW, another nomination came in from a reader (for Toy of the Year Award) – homemade playdough – love it!