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Technology

Tech Toys Take Traditional Playtime To New Heights

Posted: 12/21/2011

Some toys and games can help bridge the gap between child and parent by offering creative and imaginative play

To advance economic growth and maintain sustainable communities, all Americans need access to high-speed Internet connections.

(NAPSI)—From smartphones to tablets and all things digital, today’s kids are surrounded by technology at every turn—even playtime. While kids anticipate the presence of technology in their toys, according to the Mattel Consumer Insights Group, a research arm of the leading toy company, nearly half of today’s moms wish their children engaged in more unplugged opportunities each day—more similarly to how they grew up.

While we can expect toy companies to continue to incorporate advanced engineering and design into their next generation of products to remain relevant to today’s child, there are some toys that help bridge the gap between child and parent by offering the latest tech-infused innovations to help further facilitate creative and imaginative play experience.

A few smart holiday toy picks include:

Taking wheel play to new heights, the popular Hot Wheels brand has placed a video camera inside a 1:64 scale vehicle. Hot Wheels Video Racer cars let kids become extreme sports video producers, capturing action-packed footage with their friends and then going online to create their own films with free editing software featuring preloaded music, scene transitions and more.

Generations of girls have spent hours brushing their dolls’ hair but the new Barbie Designable Hair Extensions customize hair play for the modern-day minifashionista. Children can play stylist, creating designs and custom patterns online at the free design center and then printing their creations onto special Barbie hair extensions from any ink-jet printer, which can then be worn by the girls, their friends and their favorite Barbie doll.

For smart tech fun that the whole family can enjoy, UNO Roboto introduces a new way to customize gameplay every time the family gets together. UNO Roboto allows groups to record house rules and players’ names so that UNO Roboto can jump into gameplay unannounced and keep players on their toes.

“We talk to children and parents all year long and we know moms acknowledge benefits of new technologies, but they also want kids to interact with toys and other lively activities that foster creative, social and developmental growth,” says Michael Shore, vice president of Worldwide Consumer Insights for Mattel Brands. “But the two don’t need to be mutually exclusive. Instead, look for toys that incorporate age-appropriate technologies that can enhance traditional play experiences, while providing today’s tech-savvy youth digital generation with toys that are fresh and relevant.”

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