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ToyTechnologyThis resource has been produced or

GCSE students who have chosen to design

and make a toy. It is intended to answer

specic questions students might have,

suggest ideas or them to consider and

provide guidelines to inorm their own

designing and making.

Beore producing a design specication or your

toy you need to research the brie thoroughly. You will

need to investigate a range o toys and show that you

have considered actors such as: suitability or dierent

age groups; customer requirements and preerences;

appropriate use o materials, surace nishes andcomponents; saety; manuacturing costs and moral, social

and environmental issues. This resource is intended as a

starting point or your own, more detailed, research.

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The sort o toys that children like to play with will vary according to their age

and sometimes their gender. From your research you should decide which age

group, and perhaps gender, you are aiming your toy at. Age ranges are only broad

guidelines and toy suitability will depend on abilities as all children develop at

dierent rates. For under 3 years old, however, special care must be taken as toys

containing small parts can be hazardous due to the risk o choking.

What toysdo children

like toplay with?

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Babies (age 0-18 months)Babies like toys that appeal to their senses, such as activity mats or tents that are brightly

coloured with dierent textures and parts that move or make a noise. Very little babiesenjoy mobiles which revolve and sometimes light up and play music too. Older babies like

toys they can hold or shake like rattles, sot toys and squeaky animals, and toys that they

can chew!

Toddlers (18 months - 3 years)Toddlers like to manipulate and investigate objects; they have lots o energy and enjoy

repetition. They like toys with buttons to press or dials to turn, such as jigsaws or shape sorters,

where they have to select the correct shape to go through a hole or complete a picture.

They like toys that they can push or pull along, toys that they can play with outside and in

the bath and sot toys and dolls or comort and imaginative play. Simple jigsaws are alsoimportant.

Download NTC Baby and Toddler Play leafet

Pre-Schoolers (4 5 years)Inants like toys that they can play lets pretend games with such as dolls, action

gures, puppets, play houses and toy kitchens; they like play sets with several pieces such

as castles, pirate ships, garages and zoos. They like construction bricks and simple jigsaw

puzzles. They are more co-ordinated than toddlers and enjoy playing actively outside with

toys that they can throw, catch, push, pull or pedal.

Young children (6 7 years)By this age, some boys have very denite ideas about what toys they do and dont like to

play with. They like vehicles such as cars, trucks, re engines, diggers and helicopters. They

like racing tracks, train sets and toy tool kits, and toys that they can play with actively, such

as scooters. They like jointed action gures but may consider dolls to be only or girls! Girls

are more fexible; they like dolls, dolls prams, dolls houses and household toys but will also

play happily with so-called boys toys.

Download Toys For Boys & Girls leafet

Older children (8+ years)Children o this age are increasingly aware o peer pressure and will reject toys that they

consider too childish or them. Many girls o this age like dolls, especially those aimed

specically at pre-teens with ashionable clothing and accessories. Boys like toys that use

modern technology such as remote controlled cars or robots, electronic laser guns and toys

that are linked with popular TV series or lms. There is also a whole selection o activities such

as science kits and crat activities that both boys and girls enjoy, toys which they have to

assemble or make themselves and toys that require a degree o skill to play with. Board and

electronic games are also attractive.

Some toys are bought by adult collectors and young people, so you might decide to aim

your toy at this market. Dolls and dolls houses are popular with emale collectors, whilst men

oten collect models, such as train sets or military gures, or memorabilia connected to lms

or cartoons.

Download Solutions Through Fun leafet

For the purposes o your brie, you could divide children broadly into ve age groups:

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What toys do parentslike to buy?

Whilst some toys are bought by adult collectors and older children may save up

their pocket money to buy toys, most are bought by parents or grandparents so

these make up the majority o your potential customers.

The main concern or parents is that toys should be sae or their children to play with (see Saety First). They

expect toys to be sturdy and well made as they know that children will oten play roughly with them and become

very upset i they break; toys or toddlers, in particular, need to be able to withstand lots o the same action over and

over again. Some parents are prepared to pay or expensive toys, particularly i they think their children will play with

them a lot; other parents preer to buy less expensive toys.

Many parents like toys to be educational as well as un. They like toys that will stimulate their childrens creativity

or imagination (such as play sets or puppets), enable them to develop a physical skill (like riding a bike), or

improve their knowledge, memory and concentration and encourage problem solving (such as alphabet bricks,

construction toys and shape sorters).

Some parents and grandparents like to buy traditional toys such as rocking horses or clockwork train sets andmany children enjoy playing with these items.

Above all, parents want to buy toys that their children will have un playing with!

Download Toy Saety leafet

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Saety rst

Saety is the main consideration when designing

toys or children. Children under three will put

objects into their mouths to explore them so their

toys must be sot, with rounded edges. Toys with

small parts are unsuitable or this age group as

children could swallow them and choke, or put

them in their ears or noses.

All toys designed or children should be strong enough to withstand

play without breaking and potentially causing injury. I there are any

moving parts, it should not be possible or children to trap their ngers

in them. There should be no sharp edges that children could cut

themselves on, or spikes that could poke in their eyes. Any surace

nishes, such as paint or varnish, must not contain excessive levels o

heavy metals such as lead or cadmium.

A toy should be accompanied by the appropriate saety mark,

warnings and instructions or use.

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What materials to use?

The materials you use or your toy will depend upon a number o actors

including your design, where children will play with the toy (indoors, outside,

in the bath), availability and manuacturing cost. I your brie is to design

using dierent materials then you will need to consider the ollowing:

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PlasticsMan-made plastics have now replaced wood and metal as the most common material

used in the manuacture o childrens toys.

The rst synthetic plastic, celluloid (a thermoplastic), was used to manuacture some

toys, such as dolls, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but was dangerous because

it is highly fammable. Now fame retardants can be added to plastics during the

manuacturing process, as can pigments (to make them permanently brightly coloured)

and plasticisers (to make them bendy). Plastics are waterproo and can be moulded into

almost any shape. The raw materials used in their manuacture are relatively cheap and

products can be easily mass produced. These properties make plastics very popular or

childrens toys.

There are many dierent types o plastics, some o which are more suitable or certain

types o toys than others. For instance, HDPE (high density polyethylene) is very tough and

can be injection moulded, making it suitable or outdoor toys that children can sit in or ride

on. ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) is hard, strong and scratch resistant so can be used

to manuacture toys such as construction bricks and play sets, while polyurethane can be

rubbery and fexible so is ideal or babies toys, dolls and jointed action gures.

WoodWood is still used to manuacture a number o traditional toys such as rocking horses,

hobby horses, jumping jacks, jigsaws and some push or pull along toys.

Parents oten like wooden toys because they nd them more visually appealing than

plastic ones and know that they are durable. Wooden toys are usually more expensive than

plastic, both because o the cost o the raw materials and production techniques: many

are handmade, at least in part, rather than mass produced.

Sotwoods, such as pine, are most commonly used to make toys as they are relatively

easy to cut and shape. Hardwoods are more expensive but beech is popular or indoor

toys; elm is good or steam bending and cherry is splinter resistant. Manuactured boards,

such as plywood or MDF (medium density breboard), are also used in toy manuacture.

You might consider making your toy out o a combination o woods; you could use pine, or

instance, or the rame o a rocking horse because o its strength and MDF or the horse itsel

because it is easy to shape and cheaper.

Because wood both absorbs and releases moisture, it is not suitable or bath time toys, or

many outdoor toys. You will need to apply a surace nish such as wax, varnish or paint.

MetalBeore the commercial production o plastics in the 1950s, many childrens toys were

made out o non-errous metals, particularly lead and tin. Lead is now known to be an

accumulative poison so is completely unacceptable to use in the manuacture o toys.

Tin is still used in the manuacture o some traditional style toys such as trains, cars and

wind-up toys. These are more suitable or older children as they may have a variety o small

components and will damage more easily than plastic toys. Tin toys are generally surace

nished with paint; you would need to apply a primer and an undercoat beore the nal

colour.

Ferrous metals, such as steel, are iron based. Mild steel is very tough, can be bent or

twisted, is easy to weld and can resist strong impacts without breaking. You may wish to useit, or instance, or the rame o a toy that children will sit, climb or ride on, or or the links in a

chain. I used in this way, metal usually needs to be dip coated in plastic, or galvanised with

a thin layer o zinc.

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In addition to the choice o material, the scale o

production will have an impact on manuacturing costs.For instance, is your toy intended to be a unique item,

perhaps made by one person rom start to nish? I so,

this person will probably need to be highly skilled and

the process will be labour intensive; as a result your toy is

likely to be expensive.

Perhaps you intend to produce relatively small numbers o similar toys, in which

case batch production will be cheaper than job production but may have

hidden costs in the time lost in resetting machinery to make a new batch. Massproduction o your toy will require very high initial investment in the necessary

machinery but, i you can produce and sell large numbers, will lead to a lower

cost per toy.

Production systems

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What dierent components do toys need?Most toys have a variety o dierent parts, including mechanisms to enable

them to move. Simple push or pull along toys will require wheels and axles; cams

can be attached to these, or instance to make a toy animals head bob up and

down. Toys or children to ride on may also need pedals, a cogwheel and a chain.

Dolls and action gures need to be jointed; some jointed toys, such as jumping

jacks and puppets, can also be made to move by the use o string. Pendulum toys

use string and weights to create movement. Other toys, such as Jack-in-the-boxes,

use spring mechanisms to make the toy jump upwards.

Rocking horses need rockers or a rame. Wind-up toys can be turned by a

handle, or use clockwork mechanisms which require a key and a steel coil (to

wind up) a balance wheel (to control the speed o the release o energy) and

cogwheels (to convert the energy into movement). Some toy vehicles use a

riction wheel to make them move, while battery powered toys require an

electric motor.

Social, ethical and environmental considerationsSome people argue that playing with toys such as weapons, model soldiers or

action gures encourages children to be aggressive. Other people argue that

pretend ghting is just harmless un. You will need to decide or yoursel whether

you consider this kind o toy appropriate.

Download Agressive Toys leafet

Whilst girls and boys do seem to enjoy playing with dierent sorts o toys ater

a certain age, some people dislike toys that they think encourage gender

stereotypes. There are, o course examples o many toys and games which boys

and girls play with which have slight variations between models to appeal to boys

on one hand and girls on the other. (e.g. dierent colours)

A number o people are concerned that todays liestyles and modern

inventions such as cars, televisions and computers mean that many children

do not do sucient exercise or interact with other children outside school. They

consider that this contributes to childhood obesity and socialisation problems.

Perhaps you could design a toy that would encourage children to play actively, or

one which requires several children to play with it.

Download Active Play leafet

You should also consider the environmental impact o your toy. The recycling

and disposal o materials is becoming a very important actor when producingtoys. Oil, a nite resource, is the main raw material used in the manuacture o

plastics. Some types o plastics do not corrode so it may be best to consider

thermoplastics. Thermoplastics can be recycled by melting them down and some

new plastics are biodegradable.

Wood is a renewable resource and biodegradable but high demand or

timber places great pressure on orests. Metal ores are mined either by blasting or

quarrying, which can lead to environmental problems. Metal extraction processes

also use a great deal o energy. You might consider making your toy out o

recycled materials, such as reclaimed timber or scrap metal, or out o materials

which can themselves be recycled when the toy is at the end o its l ie.Your toy will need to be packaged to protect it whilst in transit and to discourage

shopliters but the disposal o this is likewise an environmental concern. Can you

minimise the amount o packaging needed, or ensure that this, too, is recyclable?

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Go into a toy shop, or the toy department o a large store and look at the range

o toys available. Collect catalogues or look on the internet. I you have a young

brother or sister, niece or nephew, ask i you can visit their school or nursery to

observe what toys children like playing with and how they play with them.

The V&A Museum o Childhood, at Bethnal Green in London, has a superb collection o toys, both old and

new, with inormation on subjects including child development, recreational and educational toys, materials and

mechanisms.

Once you have completed your research, you should evaluate what you have ound out and produce a

thorough design specication. You should regularly check this to ensure your design ideas are ullling what you set

out to achieve. Good luck!

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What should I do now?

The inormation in this document is provided or private use only, without re responsibility on the part o the

Association or its ocials and where the inormation has been obtained rom another source, without responsibility

on the part o themselves or their ocials.

Denotes image supplied by V&A Museum o Childhood