How groups judge toys

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Here's information on some well-known groups.

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio

Awards: Platinum, Gold or Blue Chip Classic

History: Founded in 1989 by Joanne Oppenheim, an educator and children's author, and her daughter Stephanie, a mother of two. Son James Oppenheim is the technology editor.

Judging: Educators and child-development experts select products, which are then rated by parents and children. "Since all new products tend to have novelty appeal, we ask our testers to live with a product for a while before assessing it."

Fees: No submission fee; charge for using the award seal. "We found that if we didn't protect our trademark, it was showing up on products we hadn't given awards to," explained Stephanie Oppenheim. The company does not sell toys (but the Web site links to companies' sites) or accept ads from manufacturers. The Oppenheims are contributors on NBC's "Today" show.

Books: "Oppenheim Toy Portfolio," 2005 edition (12th annual). Also publishes a quarterly, subscription-based newsletter.

Toy buying advice How to navigate the awards: Be wary of "industry" experts. This means the expertise is in the toy industry, not child development. Watch for reviews, not blurbs. Some "reviews" offer no more information than the back of the box, without any pros or cons. Find out who judges the awards. Sometimes it's just one person, other times it's just children. While children should be involved, some reviewers avoid relying on only their opinions. As the Oppenheim Web site notes, this is the same as asking just kids to review foods. "Your basket might be full of heavily advertised convenience foods and candy and ice cream, but low on nutritional balance." Make sure toys are age-appropriate. Not only is this a safety concern (e.g., a choking hazard for kids under 3), but toys that are too old will likely frustrate children. Good reviews should offer detailed age ranges. The industry naturally "pushes the range as far up and as far down as possible," said toy reviewer Stephanie Oppenheim. "We often disagree with the age label." Look for useful information. No toy will appeal to every child, regardless of how many awards it has won. But good reviews can offer such inside scoops as whether the toy broke immediately, how noisy it is and what types of skills it encourages. Focus on variety, not quantity. Find gifts that encourage different types of skills and interests. Instead of purchasing five building sets or more dolls, for example, consider toys that encourage outside play and artistic expression too. Emphasize play value. Generally, the more open-ended a toy, the longer children play with it. "Many toys do a lot of actions," Oppenheim said. "Some have so many sound effects that the toy is the center of play, not the child." Good toys can be used in different ways as children grow up. Sources: "Oppenheim Toy Portfolio"; "Toy Tips"

Web site: www.toyportfolio.com

Parent's Choice Awards

Awards: Gold, silver, recommended, approved, classic, fun stuff.

History: Founded in 1978 by educator Diana Huss Green

Judging: Tested by children, then evaluated by adult judges. The company says fewer than 15 percent of items submitted receive a commendation. Its criteria requires products to be free of racial or gender bias and not extol violence.

Fees: Submission fee of $150 for a video game or $175 to evaluate a Web site, for example. Charges a licensing fee for award seals. Sponsors of the Parent's Choice Foundation include Amazon.com, the Toy Industry Association and the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. The company president writes a toy product column for Reader's Digest.

Web site: www.parents-choice.org

The National Parenting Center

Award: Seal of Approval

History: The Parenting Center was founded in 1989 to dispense parenting information; the Seal of Approval program began in 1990.

Judging: Parents, children, educators use the products at a testing facility and fill out questionnaires.

Fees: $250 testing fee, with discounts for multiple submissions.

Web site: www.tnpc.com

Dr. Toy

Award: 100 best children's products, 10 best active products, 10 best children's software, 10 best audio-visual, 10 best games, 10 best educational products, 10 best creative products, best classic toys, best children's vacation product, best socially-responsible product. Also offers a best smart toys list to tie with her book.

History: Stevanne Auerbach, a former teacher and founder of the San Francisco International Toy Museum (now defunct), started creating best-toy lists in 1992.

Judging: Auerbach is the judge.

Fees: Not disclosed, but Consumer Reports cited a $200 per-product evaluation fee in 2000. One-inch printed seals cost $64 for 1,000 or $82 for two-inch circles.

Books: "Dr. Toy's Smart Play: How To Raise a Child with a High PQ (Play Quotient)"; "FAO Schwarz: Toys for a Lifetime."

Web site: www.drtoy.com

Toy Wishes magazine

Award: Hot dozen

History: Toy Wishes magazine, which releases the "hot" list, debuted in 1999. Co-publisher Jim Silver is also publisher at Adventure Publishing Group, which publishes The Toy Book, a toy trade magazine, and The Licensing Book, The Toy Report and The Licensing Report. He serves on boards for the Toy Industry Association and the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association.

Judging: The magazine's editorial staff considers expected popularity, value, creativity and innovation to predict the best-selling toys. Factors include whether a toy is part of a popular brand or license and what kind of promotional support it will receive. While the magazine features more than 500 new toys, "only those predicted to be the most impossible to find because of their popularity receive Hot Dozen status." According to its press materials, the list is referenced in more than 100 TV interviews and 500 newspapers every year.

Fees: No submission fees, but the magazine is full of toy advertisements.

Web site: www.toywishes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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