Toys are a vital part of a child’s development because they are the treasures of childhood and help children to stimulate their imagination. But of the many toys that are available on the market, some are quite hazardous and can be dangerous for your child’s health.

A good toy should not only match the stages of your child’s development and emerging abilities, but it should also be safe for their use. Choking is a common risk among children aged 3 or under because, at that age, they tend to put objects in their mouths. That is why it is vital for every toy manufacturer and CAD design service to follow guidelines and label new toys for specific age groups.

Though parents should always supervise their child when they are playing with toys, it’s up to the manufacturer to design kid-friendly toys that will be appropriate and safe for every child. So, let’s take a look at a few tips for designing toys that are safe for kids.

  1. Be colorful: This is important because bright colors and children’s brands go hand-in-hand. If you want kids to be strongly attracted to your branding and designs, you need to harness the magic of the rainbow, because kids are usually attracted to the most vibrant colors of the color wheel in contrast to muted or neutral tones. Moreover, primary colors like yellow, blue, red, or secondary colors like green, purple, and orange will grab much more attention from a younger crowd than brown or a muted shade of pink, for example.
  2. Let cartoon characters be the face of your brand: Kids prefer animated toys, especially animated characters that will extend beyond their favorite Disney cartoons or Nickelodeon. Incorporating a character or mascot into your design and branding can strengthen children’s connection to your product because a cartoon character is generally appealing to children. Adding a character will give your brand a high dose of personality and make it much more memorable.
  3. Focus on the parent too: When designing your product, don’t be oblivious to the parent, because no matter how kid-focused your brand is, it’s the parents who will bring out the cash to purchase it. If your design does not sit well with the parent, your business will suffer. It is vital to build your brand in a way that connects with both parent and child. This might be a little tricky, but it is possible. Let’s take, for instance, the Little Monster brand – this sports program did a great job adding design elements that appeal to children while also designing in a way that draws in the parent.
  4. Be aware of safety issues: It is also essential for a manufacturer to be conversant with the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulations. Provisions in the Child Safety Protection Act, which is implemented by the CPSC, require labels on the packaging of balloons, balls, marbles, and other toys intended for children 3 years of age or under and include a warning against choking hazards.

This provision also bans balls smaller than 1.75 inches in diameter for children under three years of age. In cases where choking does occur, the Act also requires importers, distributors, manufacturers, and retailers of latex balloons, small balls, marbles, toys, and games containing these items or small parts to report to the CPSC. More of the regulations for designing child-friendly toys can be found on the CPSC website.

Sample Toys for Children of All Ages

It is essential to consider the age of a child when designing a toy for them because some toys can be safe for older children but quite hazardous for the younger ones. That is why many toys have age-range information on their packaging, which can be significant for safety. Here are some guidelines for age-appropriate toys for the various age ranges:

  1. Toys for a young infant – 0 to 6 months: These children are very young and fragile and are always fascinated with sound, movement, simple shapes, and white visuals. Their toys should be the sturdy type that can be squeezed, kicked, grasped, or shaken, such as soft dolls, teething toys, squeeze toys, textured balls, and board books. Audio items such as recordings of lullabies, simple songs, nursery rhymes, and poems are also appropriate.
  2. Toys for older infants – 7 to 12 months: These infants are now mobile and can move around, whether by scooting, rolling over, or crawling. They can also pull themselves up to a standing position. You can consider designing toys such as dolls, plastic and wood vehicles with wheels, water toys, puppets, nesting toys, push and pull toys, large balls, and soft things to crawl over for this age range.
  3. Toys for 1-year-olds: These kids can walk steadily and say a few words. They like to experiment at this age, but this is when adults need to monitor them more to keep them safe. This age range has various toys they can engage with, such as:
    1. Recordings with rhymes and song, simple stories and pictures
    2. Board books with photographs of real objects and simple illustrations
    3. Toys to create with like washable markers, large paper, and crayons
    4. Toys they can use to pretend with, like dress-up accessories, puppets, plastic animals, baby carriages and strollers, plastic and wood vehicles and so much more
  4. Toys for 2-year-olds: Toys for this set of kids shouldn’t differ from those designed for a 1-year-old but can be bigger and more technical. At this age, they tend to learn more about socialization and engage in lots of pretend play. Go for designs that get them solving problems, like objects to sort, word puzzles, wood puzzles, or picture books with more details than books for younger children. Again, CD and DVD players with a variety of music are appropriate, as well as ride-on equipment, low climbers with soft material underneath, and large and small balls for kicking and throwing
  5. Toys for 3-year-olds: This age group is called kindergarteners or preschoolers, and they tend to ask a lot of questions. Toys for 2-year-olds are also relevant for them, but you should consider making your designs more technical. You can add instruments such as xylophones, rhythm instruments, keyboards, maracas, and tambourines. Then there are sand and water play toys, transportation toys, construction sets, child-sized furniture, dolls with accessories, puppets and simple puppet theatres, key shears, counting bears, as well as collections of plastic bottle caps and other smaller objects to sort by width, length, height, shape, color, smell, and quantity.

Analysis:

While I am not designing a toy, the same principles and rules outlined in this article apply. Kids are extremely particular with what they wear and play with. Infants are less opinionated, but a young toddler who is just starting to test out their power and authority will have strong feelings regarding the color orange versus red. There is also a strong importance in a balance between designing for the kid and the parent. As the article mentioned, it is the parent who hands over the cash, and they won’t do so for something they hate that they will have to see every day. In the same way, if a child dislikes the look of the product, even if they can’t differentiate why, they will not use or wear it.

Additionally, there are many safety measures necessary to be mindful of when designing for children, especially infants and toddlers, who believe everything belongs in their mouths. There are also helpful developmental stage tips listed to differentiate design choices for different ages, even for children only a few months apart.

Source:

Scott-Leslie, D., Marino, A. R., Parada, I., & Kuska, A. (2018, December 31). New product design: How to design kid-friendly toys. Cad Crowd. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.cadcrowd.com/blog/new-product-design-how-to-design-kid-friendly-toys/

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