The Make In India Initiative - Battery operated ride on car for kids

The battery operated ride on cars for kids are predominantly made in China than anywhere else in the world. With the growing sentiment accross the world to look for alternatives to China for manufacturing various products including toys, comes a great surprise and achievement by Masoom Playmates Pvt Ltd - an India based manufacturing company.

Masoom's sister concern Mekashi Toys Pvt. Ltd. is the first manufactory in India to produce the battery operated ride on cars. The achievement is a significant step for the Indian toy industry as well as world over as it goes on to set an example for everyone that India is capable of many things that were unimagineable till now.

Mekashi is confident that worldwide toy industry associates will appreciate the quality and finishing or the products and would gradually shift to placing orders with Indian companies. Such shift in buying pattern will definitely have a domino effect and result in more R&D and new products and design innovation in India as Indian factories attract more and more volume of orders from world over.

The following is a video for anyone to understand and appreciate the robust packaging, easy assembly and superior quality of the MKS-001 Mekashi Toys Ride on Cars.

Selecting a toy- what not to buy

With innumerable variety of toys available in toy shops, parents more often than not get confused and buy the toy that the shop sales man thinks is best for their child. Such recommendations in most probability are based on the fact which toy is more profitable for the shop.

It will do your child some good if you put some thought behind what you buy and what you don't buy. Buying toys whether online or offline is very similar and a few things should be kept in mind:

1. It is not just one toy that makes a difference to your child's overall development but it's the collection of toys you buy for your child over a period of time.
2. Cheap toys that break in a couple of play time are not worth your money. Such toys are unsafe due to inferior raw material and upon breakage they may expose sharp edges or small parts that may potentially be dangerous for your child.
3. Expensive toys are not always the answer to all your child's needs of a good toy. You can land up buying lots of expensive toys only to see your kid is simply not interested in it beyond the time it takes to open the packaging.
4. A lot of toys are toxic and unsafe for your child. Do not buy unsafe or toxic toys. If you are in doubt regarding the safety of a toy move on. There are plenty of toys offering similar play value yet being safe and non toxic for your child. All safe and non toxic toys have the same written on the toy or the packaging somewhere. But beware of some misleading markings too!

Having ruled out certain toys using above points you would have come quite close to the basket of toys from which you can pick up the right toys for your child. Please read the article Selecting a toy - what to buy!

Selecting a toy- what to buy

Money comes first, see what suits your pocket. Saving money on a toy is like compromising on your child future and overspending on one toy simply does not make sense as there are plenty other toys available that provide excellent value for money. A few pointers to decide how much value actually a toy gives your child:

1. Toys with good moral values: look for toys that impart good moral values to children. Examples- fashion dolls vs baby dolls or traditional dolls, guns and knives vs traditional toy weapons and video games vs board games. Any toy that has a potential to promote violence, aggression or wrong body image would hinder your child's growth and can fuel in creating insecurities, complexes and bad behavior in kids. Rather toys that act more as a friend, promote social skills, encourage creativity and develop motary and sensory skills are a few considerations one should keep in mind.
2. Toys that challenge your kid: Most educational or activity oriented toys have a recommended age written on them. One should not go accordingly blind folded. Example, some puzzles meant for 5 yrs+ can be easily solved by your 4 year old. Hence, the quest for any parent is to constantly find toys that can challenge the child mentally and physically. Such toys under parental supervision can act as a booster in a child's growth as long as the parents keep their patience and do not make the child feel pressurised.
3. Toys wardrobe!: A right mix of diverse toys is the most important factor to consider when buying a toy. It's like your clothes are not all like white shirt and black pants, there is a variety, different clothes for different occasions, different colors so that you don't get bored wearing the same stuff everyday and the list is never ending. Same is with toys. But it does not mean buying action figurines of all wrestlers for variety! Mold your child's interest in varied toys like indoor and outdoor toys, board games, role play sets, educational toys, construction kits, cars and the list is pretty long.
4. Understanding your child's needs: Every child has his/her some standard needs across the globe and then some unique needs as per his/her abilities and grasping power. Some children learn slowly initially then pick up really fast later and in some cases vice versa is also true. Understand your child's ever changing needs. From learning alphabets to performing complicated scientific activities, from drawing to making working models, from board games like ludo to strategy based board games.... hope you get the drift.
5. Safe and Non toxic Toys: Last but not the least, make sure the toy is Safe and Non-toxic. Most commonly the toys paints and colours that lend the attractiveness to a toy can be the major hazard for a child if the manufacturer of the toy has acted irresponsibly. Other toxic elements can be unsafe chemicals used in production of plastics, and cloth. Ask the retailer about the safety of a toy before you buy. If not satisfied write to the manufacturer. In case you do not get a satisfactory reply, choose another toy. This little extra effort may help preventing undesirable conditions for your child.

With more and more new toys bombarding toy stores it is proving to be a bigger challenge for parents in deciding what to buy and what not to. With limited space for toys in most homes parents are left hanging in this dilemma fearing their child will be left behind his/her peers.

Lot of new jargons like intelligent toys, etc are finding their way in it minds leaving us clueless.   A word of advise, no one cares if the toy is intelligent or not, so ease off. Just work towards making your kid smart enough to be confident and independent!

For further reading read the article Selecting a toy- What not to buy!

8 Reasons Why Playing Board Games Is A Good Thing

When you think someone is playing games with you it is upsets and infuriates you. You come up with best possible scenarios to snub the person and get a one up on them. But since when did this pleasant and relaxing ritual of “playing games” get such an ugly connotation? I believe playing games is a good thing, that is, if you play the right sort of game. Here’s why:

1. Higher IQ levels and better social skills: Studies have shown that adults who grew up playing games indoor and outdoor (in groups) had better social skills and higher IQ levels than their peers who played alone. Get your child a strategy game like chess set its not to late for you to learn too!
2. Encouraging creativity: Certain games encourage creative thinking and thinking out of the box. Games like pictography in which you need to draw a word to make your team mates guess and win brings out the best of creativity in every child whether or not the child is confident of his/her drawings.
3. The brain – Use it or lose it: Memory games help keeping your brain sharp. Retaining information in your brain well into old age has one simple rule - use your brain or lose it! The more you memorize the better your brain gets at remembering.
4. Better world citizens: Games encourage a spirit of sportsmanship, you get used to the idea “You win some, you lose some”. In this day and age of cutthroat competition this thinking is essential for reducing stress. Children who grow up while being encouraged to embrace victory and loss are calmer as adults than their peers. Housie, bingo, tambola are some group playing games where only a few people emerge as winners.
5. Get down to their level: Board games level the playing field (no pun intended) Adults and children sit down together and play the game with same rules that apply to both. Here there is no ‘adult – child’ boundary its just about playing. Most adults have known to mention their happiest times of their childhood being when they played with their friends or parents at school or at home. Board games you could consider looking at are – Ludo, snakes and ladders and business games.
6. Build better relationships: Best way to connect with your child is through games. Studies have proved that parents who give their children undivided attention while playing with them and listening to their concerns on a daily basis raise teenagers who are more willing to discuss their decisions and choices them.
7. Games are good for adults: It helps keep the brain sharp and alive. They help de-stress at the end of the day. Meeting friends over a cup of tea and card game is slowly becoming a lost ritual. Why not schedule a date with your old friends and break out the cards? You find yourself rejuvenated after a good tête-à-tête.
8. Learning through fun: There are many games that encourage the child to learn geography, history and even build their vocabulary while having fun. Click here to find such games. You could even teach your child about the value of money and consequence of his / her decisions through board games with money transactions. Find such games here.

6 Safety check points for infant toys you should not ignore

It is not rocket science to know if a toy is safe or not but it takes some basic knowledge to figure out the reality. We have seen popular toys being recalled or even banned due to safety issues which only leaves even an aware parent perplexed as to what to trust and whom to believe.

The way out is, over and above what the toy manufacturers claim on the product packaging is to use your own judgment based on certain criterias. Infants (age group 0-3yrs) have a tendency to put everything they love in their mouth and suck on it. Hence, the most important aspects one should be sure about infant toys are:

1. There should not be any potentially detachable parts in the toy that are small enough for the infant to swallow. Small parts pose a huge choking hazard for the infants that should be avoided at all costs.
2. The paint should not be scraping off or the color should not be spreading (leaching) on to the packaging. If such toys do come in contact of your child do check for any residue paint in the toddler's mouth, hands or body and clean it immediately, consult the doctor and contact the manufacturer for details on the paint/color used.
3. One should avoid fur toys that can shed fur which may enter the respiratory system or the food pipe of the infant.
4. It is advised to always keep the packaging of the toy safely away from the child but in a place from where you can retrieve it easily. You may require certain details and information mentioned on the packaging till your child has the toy to play with.
5. Sometimes a safe toy can pose a hazard when the toy is broken during play and thereby exposing small parts. It is recommended to replace broken and old toys.
6. Never give a toy to an infant not recommended by the manufacturer for your child's age group. Check the recommended age group on the toy packaging which ideally should be placed prominently for you to notice and read.

The above aspects though not exhaustive represent the safety of a toy that as a parent you can see yourself for the safety of your precious little one.

Toy safety and non toxicity is a vast science and complete safety can only be measured in certified testing laboratories. Look for toy safety standards mentioned by the manufacturer on the packaging.

The most common safety standards for toys are given below:

1. EN71 Part 1,2 & 3- European Toy safety standard. The different parts pertain to the physical, chemical and flammability aspects of the toy. A toy can only be certified safe if it passes all the three parts.
2. IS 9873 Part 1,2 & 3- Indian toy safety standard (identical standard to the EN71)
3. ASTM - American safety standards for toys. Usually a number will follow the ASTM depending on the type of toy.
4. BPA free- this would be mentioned on some infant toys and feeding bottles made of hard plastic. Some countries have made this additional safety standard as mandatory.
5. Phthalate free- this may be mentioned on some infant toys made of soft plastic like squeeze toys. Some countries have made this additional safety standard as mandatory.
6. Azo free- this may be mentioned on some toys made of cloth/fabric/fur. Some countries have made this additional safety standard as mandatory.

Welcome!

A new blog started today. This blog will provide update on latest events in the toy industry worldwide, trends, news and information. A special focus will be on Made in India toys. Tips for parents and children will be included from time to time.

Information on Masoom toys, dolls, board game, educational puzzles, battery operated ride-on toys for kids, squeeze toys and plush toys will be posted on a regular basis for general awareness of our valued customers.